Blinded by Fear
by sakariauchiha
Summary: Sakaria Uchiha had been hidden from her village her entire life. When tragedy struck their clan, she left with her eldest brother, disappearing from the place she had called home. Years later, she finds herself on her own and attempting to make sense of the world around her after being sheltered for so long. (Comments welcome!) *CONTAINS SMUT/MATURE THEMES*
1. Chapter 1

"That's her," a woman whispered to her friend as they both moved to the other side of the street. "That's the girl Lady Tsunade was telling everyone about." They peered upward with their heads lowered toward a black haired girl walking down the streets with several shinobi surrounding her like body guards. Although the women tried to be discrete, as the girl walked passed them she could feel their eyes burning holes into her, but she remained unfazed, and her eyes never strayed from the direction she was heading, all the while thinking how different everything looked in Konoha.

"What do you mean she's not talking!?" Lady Tsunade shouted, slamming her fist on the desk before her.

"She hasn't made a peep since we found her," came a confident voice from the line of three ninja standing in front of her, "It's like she doesn't even see us when we talk to her." The blonde shrugged, feeling discouraged that she couldn't perform her mind transfer jutsu on the girl and do some digging. She couldn't understand why, but every time she had attempted any of the intelligence gathering techniques her clan had taught her, it seemed like a waste of chakra. She was instantly thrown back into her own head.

"So you can't get her to speak? Are you sure she's even alive!?" Tsunade snarled sarcastically, flipping her short blonde hair behind her ear as she sat back in her chair.

"She's alive, she's just not talking," The largest of the three said, shrugging as well. Choji, like his teammates, was exhausted and hungry from the long mission they had been on. He wanted his meeting with the Hokage to be over so he could get something to eat.

Tsunade was quiet for a moment, then she looked toward the middle of the group at a young man with his hair tied back in a ponytail who seemed just as disinterested in the conversation that was occurring as their captive had been with the three of them earlier. "Well, Shikamaru? You didn't get any information from her?"

"What, you think she wanted to talk to **ME** of all people?" Shikamaru said, obviously annoyed. "Like Ino said, she hasn't even acknowledged our existence, let alone talked to us." He knew that part of that was true. The girl they had found hadn't talked to them, but Shikamaru had managed to get her to smile slightly at some hateful comment he'd made toward Ino while they were headed back to the leaf village. So, she hadn't totally ignored them.

Tsunade stood and walked toward the window of her office, looking over the village she protected. She then changed her focus to the team's reflection in the glass, "Team ten, I am officially declaring this mission a failure!"

Sudden protest bursted from the mouths of the other two teammates while Shikamaru shouted, "We brought her back to the village! What else do you want!?"

"I want answers!" Tsunade shouted, turning suddenly and advancing toward them, her voice scratching, "Right now, we don't even know if that's the right girl out there!"

"Yes, we do!" Ino interrupted, "It has to be her. She is everything you said. Black hair, pale skin, hanging around some loser from the akatsuki…" Ino tried to think of other evidence to settle their case, but Tsunade shook her head.

"Just because she **LOOKS** like the girl I described, doesn't mean it's her. It's been years since she's been in the village! We have no idea what Sakaria could look like now, and you three think that because you stumbled upon a pale girl with black hair and akatsuki affiliation, it has to be her. Go out and get answers… and for God's sake don't let her leave the village. You three are to watch her every move. Got it?" She waited for the team to nod, albeit defeatedly, and then shouted, "Dismissed!" Before they walked out of the door, leaving Tsunade to sift through the small file that had been built on the mysterious Uchiha survivor. Inside, a small Polaroid was paper clipped to a description paper. The Hokage studied the Uchiha children depicted on it, contemplating how the boy shown holding his little sister and patting his younger brother on his head with a proud smile could feel so drawn to kill the rest of his family.

"What a drag," Shikamaru griped as soon as they walked out of the building, "I guess we can put off getting some rest." Behind him, Choji's stomach growled.

"Or getting food," the larger boy groaned, holding his gut while looking down.

"Who else could that girl be if she's not Sakaria Uchiha? I mean, there's not exactly a tribe of pale, dark haired girls just roaming around with guys in akatsuki robes." Ino growled, rolling her eyes. "And who is 'Sakaria Uchiha' anyway? I thought Sasuke's brother killed everyone except himself and Sasuke…"

"Tsunade got word of another Uchiha survivor from someone in the Anbu Black Ops… guess they tracked her somehow." Shikamaru said, putting his hands behind his head lazily.

"Then why didn't **THEY** go out and snatch her up since Tsunade doesn't think we did a good enough job! Why don't **THEY** go get her to talk? Why even bring us into it at all!?" The blonde's fiery temper flared up, annoyed that she was being critiqued so harshly after she felt they had all done exceptional work.

"She probably didn't want to scare her." Choji mumbled, still empathetic although he was starving. "Think about it, I'd be pretty scared if some guys in masks came after me and snatched me up from some old temple."

"Well, it's not like we weren't kinda scary too," Shikamaru said, recounting back to the three finding the girl huddled in the dark behind a fallen pillar, unmoving. "We just didn't have the masks." Shikamaru stopped as if something had struck him suddenly, then turned to his teammates. "You guys go get some rest, I'll take over watching her for a little while. Maybe I can get Sakaria… or whoever she is to talk if it's just me."

"But Tsunade sa-"

"Tsunade said we had to keep an eye on her and to get some answers right? She didn't say all three of us had to be present for them." Shikamaru waved them off ignoring the growling in his own stomach, "It's a pain, but the sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can stop listening to Lady Tsunade bitch at us for something we did right in the first place. See you guys later." He said the last few words while disappearing down hill into the village, heading toward the abandoned Uchiha houses.

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"Itachi, **I **wanted to ride on your back on the way home!" A young Sasuke whined as he looked up at his older brother.

"I carried you the whole way out, Sasuke. Let Sakaria ride on my back for a little while. It's only fair." On Itachi's back, a small, black haired girl stuck her tongue out at her older brother who walked along side them. "Besides, her legs are a lot smaller than yours, she has to walk twice as fast to keep up with us." Itachi smiled down at his little brother, holding Sakaria close to him by her legs.

"Yeah, loser," Sakaria moused from Itachi's back, "and also, guess what! Whenever we get home, you're gonna be in big trouble because **I'M** telling mom you threw a kunai straight at my head."

"It was an **ACCIDENT!**" Sasuke growled back. Itachi smiled and sighed while listening to his siblings bicker back and forth. Once they reached the gates to their home, Itachi set Sakaria down and quieted them both by squatting and placing a hand on each of their heads.

"You two should try being nicer to each other," Itachi suggested, still smiling. "You never know, one day all you could have is each other." For a moment, both siblings blushed and looked at the ground guiltily while Itachi stood and started walking toward their house again, "C'mon you two. I'll bet dinner is almost done." With that, Sakaria perked up and shouted something about racing Sasuke to the kitchen before running off, but Sasuke walked slowly inside. What did he mean they might only have each other? Was Itachi going somewhere?

At dinner, the three Uchiha's sat down with their parents in cold silence until their father finally spoke to Itachi, "How are things going with your training for the Anbu?"

"Fine," Itachi said after a momentary pause. His father's eyes bore down on him, expecting elaboration, but Itachi quickly changed the subject, "Sasuke is doing great learning to target by the way. He hit almost every mark today."

"Yeah, **AND MY FOREHEAD!**" Sakaria griped, pointing toward the middle of her brow with her small thumb.

"It's not my fault you were standing in the way, loser!" Sasuke snapped back.

"You're the loser! Loser!" Sakaria said, standing. Sasuke stood to his feet as well and the two began to argue back and forth, paying no mind to their eldest brother seated in between them, "I bet if I paint a big target on my head you wouldn't come close to hitting me next time!"

"If you paint a big target on your head, you'd look a lot prettier cause it would cover up your ugly forehead!"

Itachi smiled, listening to the two bicker. It made him feel somewhat normal to hear his younger siblings shout back and forth like a regular family. In that moment, nothing else existed. Not the Black Ops. Not the coupe. Nothing. Just his small part of the clan enjoying a less than peaceful meal in their home at the edge of the village.

"That's enough out of you two," their mother said, cheerfully. She hardly ever interjected unless the it was to settle a fight between the two, and even then she was so calm and patient, it did little to simmer them down. "You should probably get cleaned up and go to bed. You're going to have to do a lot of training to catch up to your big brother, don't you think?" Mikoto said cheerfully. Her voice did not reflect disappointment in her younger children, but rather, encouragement for them to do their best.

Conversely, from beside her, their father mumbled, "At this rate, Sasuke might never catch up to Itachi." He uncrossed his legs and stood, turning toward the hallway toward their rooms, "and Sakaria shouldn't be focused on training at all. We already discussed not sending her to the academy."

"But I want to, daddy!" Sakaria shouted, "I want to be a kunoichi! I've been practicing real hard. I can throw a shuriken already. Itachi says I'm even better than Sasuke at it!"

"No he doesn't!" Sasuke shouted.

"Yes huh!"

"Enough!" The house fell silent as their father turned toward them again, glaring at the two younger children. "I don't want to hear any more." He disappeared into the house as his wife stood and cleared the table, and the kids stood quiet and defeated. Sasuke finally looked up at Sakaria and held out his hand.

"C'mon, sis. Let's go outside." Sasuke hardly ever called her anything endearing, so it caught Itachi off guard as the two grabbed hands and walked somberly out into their courtyard, ignoring their mother's call that it was almost time for bed.

In the courtyard, Sasuke and Sakaria sat on the porch, looking up at the night sky that had devoured the sunset a few moments ago. Sakaria's eyes filled with hot tears that she wiped away with her wrist. "I want to be a kunoichi so bad." She sniffled, her head on fire from holding back sobs. "Dad is… never gonna… let me…" Her voice was filled with trembles and gasps.

"Well, first thing you gotta know about being a ninja is…" Sasuke said after staring at her for quite some time as she cried. "Ninja are tough." He took his hands and wiped his little sister's tears from her cheeks. "So, if you wanna be a kunoichi, you gotta stop crying so much." He smiled and put his hand on her head, just like Itachi would do to him. "You're real good at throwing shuriken and stuff, but it won't be worth anything if you can't see the target with tears in your eyes." Sakaria brightened up, wiping away her tears again.

"You mean it, Sasuke? You really think I'm good?" Her voice was eager. Although he was only three years older than her, Sakaria craved Sasuke's approval just as much as she did Itachi's and her parents'.

"Well, sure!" Sasuke said, still smiling, "I couldn't throw shuriken like that when I was four. You're already ahead of me!" Sakaria's eyes lit up, and she almost knocked Sasuke over as she hugged him.

"I'm sorry I called you a loser… I'm glad you're my brother."

Sasuke hugged her back and said quietly, "I'm sorry I said you had an ugly forehead… and I'm sorry I almost hit you at target practice today…. Even if it was an accident." With that, Sakaria was called inside by their mother to get ready for bed. Sasuke remained outside remembering back to what their mom had said about their dad always talking about him to everyone… he wondered if he talked about Sakaria too.


	2. Chapter 2

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Evening slid over the leaf village, leaving a heavy orange hue in the sky as the sun set. The black haired girl team ten had taken into custody earlier had been questioned left and right to no avail. In fact, the only answer she gave was to the question, "Would you feel more up to talking if we got you a place to rest," to which she nodded slightly. They found her an empty apartment to stay in that was close enough to the village center that she could be watched while still allowing her a bit of privacy. Shortly after settling in, she laid still in bed, staring up at the ceiling until a knock interrupted her thoughts.

Hesitantly, she walked to the door and opened it just enough to see who was standing outside. A familiar face looked down at her, and she inquisitively returned his stare as Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I know this is kind of weird… me coming to talk to you so late, but I wanted to show you something." The girl's dark eyes narrowed, almost intrigued by what the man in front of her was saying but not enough to come outside. "You don't have to talk to me. I'm not going to ask you any more questions or anything. I just want you to come see what I have to show you, and then I'll take you back home. I promise." His voice was flat and uninterested, almost as if it was a chore to even form the words. The girl believed it when he said he wouldn't interrogate her further… not because he didn't need to, but simply because he seemed too lazy. She stepped out with him, and for the first time since they found her, Shikamaru got a good look at the girl underneath the porch light. The most noticeable thing about her was a tattoo-like, black mark that swarmed from her shoulder blade over her left shoulder and down her arm in a swirling tribal-esque pattern that stopped before it reached her elbow. Her hair was so black there seemed to be a slight tinge of blue in it, not unlike Sasuke's. Her eyes were black and dark, but wide with curiosity. She was small. Her tiny frame matched her height and Shikamaru noted that the top of her head hardly reached his chest. By looking at her, he estimated that she might have been twelve or so, but if that was the case, they must have had the wrong girl because the Uchiha girl they were sent to hunt down was at least fourteen. Somehow, though, the girl seemed familiar in a way.

Shikamaru blew it off and chalked it up to her having a familiar face, although that probably wasn't true considering he'd never seen anyone quite like this girl other than Sasuke. He then noted that perhaps she looked so familiar because she looked like her brother, but decided he was getting ahead of himself and shook the thought away. He started to walk down the balcony of the apartment complex toward the stairs, but looked back when he noticed she wasn't following him. "Ya coming or what?" His voice was not impatient but friendly as he smiled back at the girl who stood in a generic white tank top and blue pinstriped sleep shorts that someone had found for her to get more comfortable in. The light above her flickered slightly as a bug flew into it repeatedly. Still silent, the girl looked out off the balcony at the darkening sky and bit at her thumb nail anxiously. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow for a moment, then, as realization washed over him, nodded and walked toward her again. "Scared of the dark, huh?" She looked back up at him without confirming his suspicions. "I used to be afraid of the dark too… But…" He said, holding out his arm, "I figured out it's not so bad when you've got someone with ya. Besides, I work better in the dark since I don't have to look for shadows." The girl shifted a little and nodded as if she had suddenly remembered the shadow possession jutsu that Shikamaru had used to capture her in the first place. Part of him really did want to comfort her. Although he definitely wasn't the most empathetic man, he still felt a small pinch of sympathy for the girl. She was malnourished, scared, and alone… not to mention when they found her she was with that creep from the akatsuki and, if she was a member of the Uchiha clan, her entire family was slaughtered…who could tell what had to happen in order for her to get away? Shikamaru's mind began to wander as the girl took his arm. If she was the Uchiha girl, did she know where Sasuke was? Did she know the path he had decided to go down? Was she trying to go down that path too? Shikamaru shook his head once more and continued down the road with the stranger on his arm.

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"Mom, why can't Sakaria walk with me to school?" Sasuke said, sliding his shirt over his head. "She really wants to. Itachi could even come with us so she gets back home safe."

"No, Sasuke," their mother sighed, "She's just too little. Besides, we promised dad we wouldn't talk about Sakaria at school, right? What will the kids say if she walks there with you?"

"Why can't I tell them I have a little sister? Everybody knows I have a big brother! That doesn't make any sense!"

"It's because dad doesn't like girls…" Sakaria chimed in crossing her arms over her navy blue dress and pouting.

"Now, Sakaria, don't be silly," their mother said sternly, "I'm a girl, and I think your father likes me just fine."

"Yeah, but he doesn't like little girls like me." Sakaria said matter of factly, "I heard him tell Teyaki that he couldn't ever raise a little girl…" Her mothers eyebrows furrowed as her eyes darted over to the living area where Fugaku was enjoying his morning tea.

"Well, I will most certainly have a talk to him about that," Their mother walked over to Sasuke and kissed his forehead. "Now, don't be late, son. And have a good day! Remember; keep quiet about your sister." Sasuke rushed out the door and Sakaria followed behind, only to be stopped by Itachi as he stepped into the yard and picked her up.

"How is my favorite little sister?" He asked, tickling her. "And just where do you think you're off to?"

"I wanted to go to school with Sasuke!" Sakaria said in between giggles.

"School!? You're way too smart for school! How about you stay here instead and hang out with mom and dad?" Itachi glanced into the house and barely overheard their mother nagging at their father about not mentioning anything about Sakaria to other members of the family.

"I understand hiding her from the villagers for now…but from the clan? From our own family!? Fugaku that isn't right. She is our daughter."

"You understand Teyaki is a merchant, right? He makes small talk all day with people in the village. If anyone finds out she's-"

"It has been four years, Fugaku. Four years and we haven't told a soul she was born. Itachi has a hard enough time hiding her when he takes them on trips to the training grounds. Everyone who sees her is told she is "a friend of Sasuke's" but she looks just like me. We can't keep this up forever."

"We won't have to. After the coupe, we won't have to worry at all anymore…"

To ensure Sakaria heard none of this, Itachi tossed her in the air and spun her around. "Or! How about you hang out with me? I have to go into the village today and pick up some things. You could come with me."

Sakaria's eyes narrowed, and she looked down at the ground somberly, "Mom and dad say I'm not allowed to go into the village remember?"

"Yeah, but that was when you were little. Besides, you'll be with me. And if mom and dad get angry, they can take it up with me, okay?" Sakaria nodded, excited to go into the village for the first time. She wondered what it might be like and if she'd see any other kids there. Her mind wandered as Itachi tossed her on his back and headed down the road.

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Toward the edge of the village, the black haired girl seemed to tense up as they approached an abandoned section of houses surrounded by a large fencing system. An archway leading into the neighborhood bore the Uchiha crest above it, almost washed out by a decade of rain and neglect. Just before entering, the girl stopped and looked up, focusing on the crest for a while. Shikamaru looked down at her, still not asking any questions, just as he'd promised. "Come on, we're almost there." He kept walking further in, passing house after house that had been ransacked and left to disintegrate over time. Windows that had once been lit up from inside were shattered, doors where friendly faces would come from were knocked off of their hinges, and a place that was once filled with conversation and life, was silent and desolate. The girl looked around, listening to gravel shift under their feet as they walked forward.

Suddenly, she jumped back, startled by a stray cat that ran quickly from one of the houses it had been taking shelter in. She stopped and looked over, her heart sinking as it settled back into her chest. At the very back of the fencing, was a small valley that was once home to a field of wild flowers. As Shikamaru and the girl approached the field she fell to her knees. Dozens of graves now filled the area. One by one lined with markers that read only names. Each of them headed with the clan's crest and "UCHIHA" at the top. The girl stared in awe, scanning each of the graves like a lost child looking for a familiar face in a crowd, but stopped when she saw two graves at the top left of the plot. She walked toward them, shaking and stumbling and placed her hands on the letters underneath the names as if she were reading brail.

"MIKOTO"

"FUGAKU"

The girl's eyes were suddenly flooded with tears as she knelt between the two graves, and Shikamaru instantly knew he was right all along. This was the lost Uchiha girl Tsunade had sent them to find. She didn't have to say it out loud.

"Sakaria…" The girl lifted her head without turning it, but Shikamaru could hear a small whimper escape her. "I'm so sorry." In the still of the night, Sakaria cried for what seemed like hours, just touching her parents' impersonalized headstones and looking down at the rows of other family members buried around her. "Sakaria… your brother… Itachi, he-" Before Shikamaru could tell her the story, Sakaria turned and looked into his eyes. His head was suddenly flooded with images of that horrible night. Itachi slashing through house after house and destroying his own clan, then shouting at Sasuke that he was too weak to deal with. Shikamaru saw every moment that Itachi had forced his younger siblings to see and suddenly, he understood. The only question that remained was, where was Sakaria during any of this time?


	3. Chapter 3

Sakaria and Itachi had returned from the shops that evening laughing and singing songs along the way. As soon as they arrived home, they greeted Sasuke at the door who complained that they didn't wait for him to get home from the academy before going out because he wanted to go. Once Itachi set Sakaria down, the two younger siblings shouted at each other and started fighting, rolling in the dirt path in front of their home before Itachi picked Sasuke off of Sakaria and set them both on their feet.

"What did I tell you two about getting along?" Itachi said, smiling as he poked both siblings in the forehead.

"He started it!" Sakaria shouted, pointing her finger at Sasuke who grabbed her arm and pulled it backwards until she said "ow!" Enough that Itachi intervened again. He sighed and shook his head, still smiling.

After the three walked inside, Sakaria helped her mother with dinner as Itachi and Sasuke sat out in the courtyard talking. After they were done with their heart to heart, Sakaria came out, and Itachi took her into his arms, tickling her and holding her close. He looked up at Sasuke who seemed dismayed that their quality time was over and said, "Sasuke, go get ready. You and I are going to go out and train. It'll be just us, this time."

"Hey, no fair!" Sakaria interjected again. "You guys got to sit out here and talk while I helped mom!"

"You got to hang out with Itachi all day!" Sasuke retorted, excited to spend more time with his big brother.

"Sakaria, I promise, we'll spend time together again. Just the two of us. But for now, let me talk to Sasuke... man to man." Sasuke blushed as Sakaria stomped her foot in protest. Her angry stance was broken by Itachi picking her up and hugging her close to him all while smiling proudly. "You two are what make this clan great. I have no doubt that your strong will and determination will be what keeps our clan alive." Itachi laughed while still holding Sakaria close, her head resting into his chest. She pulled away and looked at Itachi, eagerly smiling.

"And me and Sasuke will be great ninja! And I won't ever get married so I will always have the Uchiha name!" Sakaria said matter of factly, as she grinned so wide her eyes closed.

Itachi's proud face lessened slightly, and he put Sakaria down so he could address both of them once again. "It isn't your name that makes you who you are. I believe you would both be great ninja and better people even if you weren't an Uchiha."

"But isn't our family what makes us so strong, big brother?" Sasuke asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. How could Itachi talk so fondly about them keeping the Uchiha clan alive then tell them being an Uchiha doesn't matter?

"Sure. You, Sakaria, and I will always be family... but not everyone in this clan will be a family member to you. Family is who cares about you. Who wants to see you happy and healthy. Who wants to see you achieve your dreams. Not everyone here wants that for everyone else... It's sad, but that's the way our family works... And remember," Itachi looked at Sakaria, "You can be family and have a different last name." Just as Sasuke was ready to belt out another question, the front door slid open, interrupting their conversation.

"Is Itachi here?" Itachi walked out to the front to find three members of the police unit and their clan standing to address him.

Inside the house, Sakaria and Sasuke stayed hidden but listened intently to the conversation being held. "Shisui did what!?" Sakaria whispered, shocked at the news that one of the only other family members she was allowed to know had thrown himself into the river.

"Sh!" Sasuke said, still listening intently as Itachi barked at the men standing outside, saying something about accusing him of staging the suicide. Suddenly and without warning to the two inside, the three policemen were on the ground, moaning after Itachi had attacked them. Their father's voice joined the mix shouting at him to stop. Suddenly, the two siblings heard the sharp thud of a kunai hitting the fence outside and the two looked to see that no one was hurt, but Itachi had thrown it in the direction of their father. "What's gotten into him?" Sasuke whispered, more to himself than his sister, "Why would he throw a kunai at dad!?"

"That's enough! If you keep this up, we'll take you to jail!" One of the policemen said, holding his head in his hand. Both siblings swallowed hard at the thought of Itachi getting arrested, and Sasuke mustered up the bravery to come outside.

"Brother! Stop it already!" Sasuke called from the doorway, afraid that Itachi might be taken away if he didn't intervene.

Itachi looked to the door for a moment, remembering his siblings inside, and dropped to his knees. "It is not I who killed Shisui... but for the words I have said, I deeply apologize." With that, he stood and, as though being puppeteered, walked inside.

"You weren't here," Shikamaru said, after regaining his composure. He still intended to keep his word and not ask anymore questions. "He made you see all these things, but you weren't here when this happened."

"No..." Sakaria finally said, her voice quiet and shaking. "Itachi took me out for ice cream that day..." It seemed as though she was struggling to remember the order of events that had taken place. After a long pause, Sakaria stood, still looking down at her mother and father's graves. "He told me... that he needed me to hide somewhere... because the police force was launching an investigation into Shisui's suicide, and they might find out I was in the house soon." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she meant, but Sakaria answered the question without being asked. "My mother and father had conceived me shortly after our clan was moved to the edge of the village. We were being monitored by the Anbu and ordered by the Hokage that all families were only allowed to produce two children..." Shikamaru's expression dropped, realizing that Sakaria was the third child of the two Uchiha buried before them. "My mother was only a few months along... If they had told the village-"

"She would have had to terminate her pregnancy." Shikamaru interrupted, already knowing what she was going to say, but hoping if he said it, it wouldn't hurt as badly.

Sakaria was quiet again for a while, then nodded and continued, "I was hidden from everyone in the village... including a lot of our own family because my mother and father wanted to keep me alive. Even as a child, they kept me away from everyone in fear that I would be taken... or even killed." She placed her hands on the tops of their tombstones and tears filled her eyes once more. "They only ever wanted to protect me... and I couldn't do the same for them." Shikamaru started to take a step forward, then retracted, deciding it wasn't his place to interfere with her grief. He was never very good at comforting anyone anyway.

"You didn't know..." Shikamaru stated, half in an effort to calm her, and half to figure out if she actually did.

Sakaria shook her head. "No... Itachi hid me away in the forest and came to me after... He didn't say anything at first..."

The little black haired girl waited in the hollow of a tree, holding a kunai in one hand and a small white teddy bear in the other. Suddenly, rustling in the trees interrupted the quiet night air, and Sakaria tensed until Itachi appeared in front of her. "C-Can we go home now?" Sakaria said, not wanting to be in the dark anymore. Itachi looked at her calmly and placed a hand on her head in silence. At first, Sakaria thought he was patting her head like he always had to put her at ease, but suddenly, her eyes met his, and visions of her clan being murdered by her older brother were put into her head. She watched as Itachi murdered their parents and as Sasuke collapsed crying.

After coming back to her senses, Sakaria's eyes were flooded with tears, and she mumbled, "W-Why..."

Itachi was silent for a while, then stood and turned away from her. "Do you hate me for what I've done?" Sakaria couldn't answer. There were too many questions rolling through her head. "Go back to the village, sister. Tell them who you are. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

"Don't tell me you did this for me!" Sakaria wailed, still huddled in the hollow of the tree. Itachi lowered his head and shook it, but did not further explain. A long moment of silence followed, and the two were surrounded by the wind blowing swiftly through the forest, rustling the canopy of trees over head. "Is Sasuke alright?" Sakaria finally asked, feeling numb.

"Go to him and find out." Itachi replied, his voice not wavering.

"...No."

Sakaria caught him off guard, and Itachi's voice caught in his throat for a moment. He listened and directed his eyes to the sound of her climbing from the hollow of the tree but did not turn. "You won't survive out here alone."

"You're right." Sakaria adjusted the bag Itachi had packed for her on her back after stuffing her teddy bear inside. Suddenly, the little girl sounded much older and less afraid. She walked to Itachi's side and looked up at him. He, in turn, finally met her gaze again, and she could see tear stains on his face. Although she didn't fully understand, she took her eldest brother's hand and held it tightly. "I don't hate you, Itachi..." Shocked, tears welled up in Itachi's eyes once more, but he remained silent. "I don't understand... and I might not ever get to understand... but I'm just glad we're still together." The girl's logic didn't make sense to her brother, and he pulled away, unsure as to whether she was grasping what had happened. He kneeled to her and put his hands on her shoulders, still calm.

"Our mother and father are dead. I killed them." Itachi said, expecting Sakaria to run. Wanting her to head back to the village as fast as she could. The little girl pulled away from his arms length hold and wrapped her arms around her brother's torso, burying her head in his chest.

"But you didn't want to..." Sakaria said, crying while holding him. She could feel the guilt pulsating through Itachi's body as he finally held her back. His grip was so tight, she could feel her small back bow into is arms. "I don't want you to be alone... Sasuke has the village now. He has friends at the academy... But I don't know anyone there... so it makes more sense for me to be with you, Itachi. They won't even know I'm gone because they didn't know I was there in the first place." Itachi stood again, trying to process some new plan in his mind. Things would be much harder with his little sister tagging along, but if she stayed in the village like initially planned, she might interfere with Sasuke enacting his revenge. Her heart was too soft to ever come to hate him. She already knew the truth.

"If you come with me, you can't ever come back to this place..." Itachi warned, looking down at his little sister. "And you will have to learn to take care of yourself. I can't always be there to help you." Sakaria nodded, sure of what she was doing at this point. "Come." Sakaria followed as Itachi walked deeper into the woods away from the village they had called home.

Shikamaru finally walked to the girl and put a hand on her shoulder in solidarity. He had plenty of answers and several new questions, but he decided to save them for a better time. The girl before him might never get another chance to grieve. Sakaria stood there, crying quietly as the night air surrounded them. After what seemed like ages, she wiped her eyes and looked up at Shikamaru.

"Thanks..." The word shocked him and he raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... Thanks for taking me to see them..." she elaborated, her face still flushed from crying. "I'm not sure I would have been able to come on my own." She looked back at her clan's abandoned homestead sadly as memories of her childhood swept through her mind.

"Don't thank me," Shikamaru said solemnly. He held out his arm for her again, "I told you, things are always a little less frightening when you have someone come along." Sakaria took his arm again, and they began their trek back to her apartment.

It was late into the night and all the lanterns and lights had been put out. The streets were dark and quiet as everyone in the leaf village slept soundly. Shikamaru walked arm in arm with the young Uchiha girl, who hadn't said anything else since they left her parents' graves. Once they reached her apartment, she stopped after putting her hand on the doorknob and looked up at Shikamaru.

"Can I ask** you** a question now?" Sakaria asked, thinking it was only fair since she had given him so much information. Shikamaru, although puzzled, nodded. She was quiet for a moment then she mumbled, "Are they going to have me killed here?" Shikamaru's eyes widened for a moment, then he looked at her seriously.

"No." His voice was stern and absolute.

"I left the village though, I left with the person who murdered our clan and joined the Akatsuki." Sakaria searched his face for answers, not understanding why they brought her back if not to atone for her crimes.

Shikamaru stood silent for a moment, then looked down at her, meeting her eyes. "You haven't attacked the leaf. You've not participated in any crimes other than leaving the village. You weren't even five years old when you left... You've not done anything wrong." He said this almost as if he were trying to convince her rather than stating facts.

"But I-" Shikamaru stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder, not wanting her to further incriminate herself.

"You didn't do anything wrong," he repeated. He knew his mission was to gather as much intel on her as possible, but Shikamaru couldn't bring himself to cause this girl anymore fear. He also calculated that if he scared her, Sakaria would go back to silencing herself, and that would draw an end to their investigation. "Goodnight." He said, walking down the balcony of her apartment building. Sakaria heard him let out a large yawn as he walked away and finally retreated back into her apartment once he was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Almost a year had passed since Sakaria had arrived at the village. Shikamaru had made the argument that the community should try to make her life as close to normal as possible considering the duress she was under, but it did little to no use. No one talked to her, and the ones who did, asked questions that seemed entirely out of line to ask a stranger. Occasionally, the dark haired girl would hear mumbles on the streets such as "How could she run off with the man who killed her whole family?" "She is going to be the downfall of this entire village."

That was when Pain attacked. Sakaria did nothing to help Konoha as the red haired bodies of Pain infiltrated the village. In fact, everything went by in a blaze and Sakaria only ran to her parents' graves to be with them, sure that she was going to die there. Why would she help the village that would have killed her had they known she was born? Konoha was destroyed, and a war was announced among the village just as they started to rebuild. Sakaria had no idea how she had survived the explosion. There was a brief break of light and, suddenly, she was back, lying in a mound of dirt alone where her parents graves once were. They must have been knocked over and covered in dirt by the blow.

The weeks after were the hardest. Sakaria thought of running away every moment she could, but she remembered what Shikamaru had said. "_Things are always less frightening when you have someone come along._" The problem was though, Sakaria was alone. There was no one in the village to run away with, and no one she would even consider asking, but it was becoming impossible to listen to the whispers of the villagers while they started rumors.

"If she wasn't here, we wouldn't have been attacked."

"I heard that Uchiha girl lead them here."

Of course, none of this was true. She had met Nagato before, but only briefly, and she had no way of "bringing him to the village." The only people to come to her after the attack to ensure she was okay were Shikamaru, Naruto, a blonde haired boy who seemed vaguely familiar to Sakaria though she couldn't place where she'd seen him, and who had brightly talked to her about Sasuke a few times, and Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke's teammate. Even they didn't have much to say, but she appreciated the gestures of kindness.

When news broke out of Sasuke attacking the Five Kage Summit, the people of the village were outraged, not only with Sasuke, but with the Uchiha name in general. Sakaria learned that Sasuke had not only succeeded in killing Danzo, the leader of the Anbu, but also their older brother and processed this only as much as she could with everything else going on. She knew Itachi would fall to Sasuke one day. Itachi had told her that for a long time, but Sakaria still was unprepared. She had decided to set up a small alter in a place by the river that Itachi liked to visit. He often told Sakaria about the time he had almost jumped off of the cliff nearby to end his own life, but stopped himself and met a murder of crows at the bottom. She went there often to set out flowers and candles, and to feel close to her eldest brother. Often times, she sat praying to Itachi to give her some kind of purpose or direction, but she hadn't received that.

That is, until one day while she was out by the river, she watched as the water bubbled up in the middle as if someone were drowning. Knowing she had been alone just moments before, Sakaria stood and readied her kunai while looking around with her Sharingan. Suddenly, a white haired man flew from the water and landed in front of her, one of his sharp teeth poking over his lower lip as he smiled wickedly. "Hey you!"

Sakaria couldn't place where she had seen the man before, although she knew it must have been somewhere. His appearance was too unique to forget. Somehow though, his persona escaped her. He was wearing an akatsuki robe, but she knew he wasn't a member... or, at least, he hadn't been before she was captured by team ten. "Who are you?" She said, still ready to defend herself against the white haired man in front of her.

"Aw, come on!" He replied, scratching the back of his neck, "That hurts my feelings!" He said the last part while swinging a sword at her, but she managed to jump away just in time. "You really don't know who I am?"

"No," Sakaria said, deciding not to attack further until she learned more about her opponent. "Should I?" She stood several feet away from him, focused on his grin until, across the river, a red-haired man walked out from the woods.

"Suigetsu! Remember what Sasuke said! You can't go around just killing anyone you come across." The man shouted. Sakaria looked on in shock as her white haired opponent sheathed his sword.

"You ruin all the fun, Jugo!" Suigetsu called back across the river. He turned back to Sakaria, and held out his hand in an odd attempt to make her acquaintance at this point. "I'm Suigetsu Hozuki, th-"

"The second coming of the demon," Sakaria said finishing his sentence without shaking his hand.

Suigetsu let out a small throaty laugh, "So, you did know who I was!"

"Not at first," Sakaria said, putting her kunai away as she started to relax, "but I've heard of you. Kisame used to say you were a prodigy in the art of murder." Suigestu's ears twitched at the sound of Kisame's name, and his toothy grin widened. "But perhaps he was wrong if you're taking orders from my brother."

Suddenly confused, Suigetsu walked closer, "Brother?" He looked back at Jugo who still hadn't joined their side of the river and shouted, "Oy! Jugo! This must be Sakaria... the girl Sasuke told us about!" The crows in the trees above them left their perch at the sound of his voice.

"Sakaria Uchiha?" Jugo repeated, finally jumping from rock to rock until he reached them on the other side. "Sasuke's sister?"

Suigetsu nodded, studying her. They would have had no way of identifying her from Sasuke's description considering she was much older now. Sasuke had no way to know what she looked like and they hadn't particularly been searching for her since they were almost certain she was slaughtered with the rest of the clan. She stood, crossing her arms over a black tank top after putting her ninja tools back in the holster wrapped to her right thigh with white tape just below a pair of black shorts. She kept her leaf village headband folded in her back pocket, only putting it on if she saw someone of importance approaching her. Since she was never included in any missions around the village, she saw no use in wearing it. Her hair was long and black, almost brushing the backs of her knees while she stood across from the men.

While Jugo took in her entire appearance, noting her resemblance to Sasuke, Suigetsu's eyes seemed focused on her chest which was especially noticeable considering the low cut tank top she was wearing. He reached toward her, his eyes fixated with the same wicked grin as before, but Sakaria jumped away and kicked him on the top of his head only to watch as her foot fell into water while Suigetsu's head transformed and then reappeared before her eyes. As startled as she was by the occurrence, Sakaria managed to mutter, "Creep," just before turning to walk away. These men may know Sasuke, but Sakaria was always taught by Itachi not to linger around people who fixated on her like a dog would a bone.

"Hey, hold on a second!" Suigetsu said, walking closer to her, he put his hand on her left shoulder and ran it down her arm, looking at the strange marking on her skin. "I guess you met Orochimaru too, then?" Suigetsu laughed as Sakaria turned around swatting his hand away.

"What do you know about Orochimaru!?" Sakaria hissed bitterly.

"No, No!" Suigetsu said, putting both hands in front of him in defense. "We are like you... I was one of his experiments!"

"I was no experiment!" Sakaria said hatefully. She was offended that her new acquaintance would make such an assumption.

At this point, Jugo, who had been quiet until now, stepped forward. "Then how do you explain the curse mark on your arm?"

"And why doesn't it go away like the rest?" Suigetsu interjected, rubbing his chin.

Sakaria sighed, defeated. She wasn't sure why, but she felt a connection to these two strangers and needed to elaborate. "It's sealed..." She looked down at the sealing pattern on her bicep and then back up at the two. "When I was younger, we got word from someone in the akatsuki that Sasuke had been marked by Orochimaru... I went off to try to find him and help... or maybe at least talk to him," Sakaria said, questioning her own motives. "But when I finally found Orochimaru's hide-out, Sasuke wasn't there... but **he** was..." The girl shifted, remembering the night Orochimaru bit her and placed the mark on her shoulder. "He marked me, but I got away. When I got back to the place Itachi and I were staying, my body was on fire... I didn't want to tell my brother because I knew how upset he would be that I had tried to go out on my own, but he found out anyway the next time we were in battle. The mark started to spread over my arm and Itachi immediately teleported us away and had the mark sealed... but, because they were so hasty, they didn't give the mark time to retract completely, and the markings that remained burned into my skin." Sakaria looked down at her arm, and Suigetsu noted her insecurity.

"Just looks like a bad ass tattoo to me!" Suigetsu said, replacing his look of curiosity with another smile. This time, however, it was sweet and genuine, even with his jagged teeth showing through.

"So then, do you know my brother... because of Orochimaru?" Sakaria said, easing back into the conversation but still wary of the men's affiliation.

"You could say that," Jugo responded, "Sasuke saved us from the prisons we had been kept in in order to help him fulfill his mission." Now that he had mentioned prisons, she suddenly remembered where she had seen Suigetsu. He was floating in a tank like Orochimaru's pet fish. That didn't answer her main inquiry though, and Sakaria raised an eyebrow toward Jugo, but was answered quickly. "To kill Itachi."

"You helped kill our brother..." Sakaria said, piecing together the information she was given and trying to form some sort of anger with it. To her surprise, however, she only felt sadness.

"To be perfectly honest," Suigetsu interjected, "We didn't do much to help... Sasuke took care of Itachi himself. We mostly kept Kisame busy."

So, then, Kisame was still alive after all. Sakaria was less than pleased to hear this. She had hoped that Itachi would have slaughtered him by now. "Hm." She wasn't sure what to say, so she decided to change the subject. "So, If you are enemies of Itachi and Kisame, why are you in akatsuki robes?"

"We aren't members of the Akatsuki," Jugo said, "In fact, the Akatsuki doesn't even seem to exist anymore now that Pain is gone." He walked slightly closer to her, "Your brother formed a new alliance with the two of us and our partner, Karin. We just adopted the robes then."

Karin. That was the name of the girl who had been taken into custody after Sasuke had attacked the Five Kage Summit. "So, then why are you two here... Is Sasuke planning on attacking the leaf?"

Embarrassed, Suigetsu scratched at the back of his neck, "Well, actually... the thing is... We kind of lost Sasuke."

"... Lost him?" Sakaria, though confused, found amusement in this. Perhaps this "second coming" wasn't as scary as his legacy made him out to be.

"When Sasuke attacked the Five Kage Summit, we were separated... we haven't been able to locate him yet," Jugo said calmly. Although Sakaria tried her best, she couldn't suppress the giggle that escaped her throat.

"HEY! Don't laugh!" Suigetsu growled, his face growing red in shame, "It wasn't our fault!" Sakaria only laughed harder at the white haired man's embarrassment. It felt good to genuinely laugh again. "Why! I'll cut you into bits, you little bitch!" Suigetsu shouted. He reached for his sword, but Jugo interjected.

"Control your temper, Suigetsu," Jugo reminded, still looking at Sakaria. "I can understand why you would laugh. It does seem silly for us to get separated. Especially considering the war is starting soon."

Sakaria composed herself and said, still smiling, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pour salt in your wounds. I just haven't laughed like that in a while." She looked over as Suigetsu sighed, seeming to let go of the tension he was harboring before.

"So, why are you here? We thought we might find you with Itachi if you were still alive."

"I was captured by a group of Leaf Village shinobi, and they brought me back here almost a year ago... Itachi had told me he was getting sick and that it was time for me to be on my own... I guess he was wrong." Sakaria shrugged, taking her own failure as lightly as she could. She fully expected the men to take their turn laughing, but neither of them did.

"Well... you don't **have** to be alone." Suigetsu said after taking a moment to think.

"What are you saying, Suigetsu?" Jugo said, raising an eyebrow at his companion. "We shouldn't take her with us. What is stopping her from gathering intel and delivering it back to the village if she leaves?"

"What is stopping her from doing that right now?" Suigetsu said, looking back at Jugo. He was right. Sakaria knew enough at this point to sound the alarm and have Suigetsu and Jugo both captured, but she stood still beside them. "Sakaria."

Sakaria lifted her head and looked into Suigetsu's purple eyes. "Don't you want to see Sasuke after all this time?" She was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say to the proposition. Would Sasuke want to see her? Besides that, she knew the leaf village might come looking for her if she left... but she had no one here to confide in... no one to truly understand her like the two men standing before her might be able to.

"Why would you want me to come?" Sakaria asked suspiciously, "I understand you have worries that I'll report you, but Sasuke is my last living relative, and the leaf has already ordered his assassination." She included the latter as a warning to pass on to him if he hadn't already heard. "I wouldn't aid in the murder of my brother, just like I made no effort to stop Sasuke from exacting his revenge on Itachi..." She lowered her head. "And besides... I don't have anyone here to tell. I'm an outcast. Everyone already thinks I'm the reason Pain attacked our village and Sasuke was able to locate the Summit."

"I'm not worried about you reporting us," Suigetsu shrugged, "If you even attempted to, I could cut you down where you stand." His confidence sent a small chill down Sakaria's back. "I want you to come with us because I think you're a valuable addition." Her eyes lit up at the word "valuable." She couldn't remember the last time someone other than Itachi had seen her that way.

"How do I know you're not just going to take me away from here and kill me?" Sakaria asked accusingly, her eyes searching Suigetsu's face for some sort of clue. "That way, there would be no evidence you had been here at all."

"Mmm." Suigetsu said, placing a finger on his chin. "Good point." It was almost as if he hadn't already thought of that, until he said, "Why would I worry about getting rid of evidence? We're next to a river, girlie, I could just toss you in."

"Sure, but all rivers lead somewhere," Sakaria reminded, "The water would end up giving you away."

"I **am** the water," Suigetsu laughed. "I won't kill you. If I did, Sasuke would lock me up like a fish in a tank again!" He smiled and reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. "Look, if you don't want to be alone anymore, come with us..." He looked back at Jugo who was shaking his lowered head at Suigetsu's invitation. "Maybe we can learn a thing or two from each other... and anyway, with Karin gone, we need another girl around...and maybe you won't be as obnoxious!"

They both shared a laugh, and Sakaria nodded. Without thinking any further on the matter, she pulled her leaf village headband from her pocket, marked a line through it with her kunai, and set it with the rest of her offering that had been laid out for Itachi. Shortly after, she followed Suigetsu and Jugo across the river and into the woods, leaving Konoha once again.


	5. Chapter 5

After a long trek through the woods and away from the village, Suigetsu stopped abruptly by a clearing which held a small lake with a waterfall pouring into it. Considering they had been jumping through the trees for quite some time, Sakaria had been lost in thought and almost collided with her new friend as he landed on the ground but managed to stop just before impact. Sakaria looked at the peaceful area they were in inquisitively. "Why did we stop?"

Suigetsu, who had walked over to the lake and was filling up his water bottle turned to her. "Well, we can't run forever, girlie. It's getting dark." Sakaria looked up, noticing the light orange hue that had begun to tint the sky, signifying that evening was approaching.

"Do you think we're far enough away from the village, though?" Sakaria asked, biting her thumbnail nervously.

"Do you think someone will come after you?" Jugo asked, suddenly serious. The last thing he and Suigetsu needed was to be caught lurking in the outskirts of Konoha. Sasuke might actually kill them if they interfered with any of his plans. Sakaria lowered her head in thought for a moment.

"Hey, Sakaria!" Shikamaru shouted as he walked up to her while she looked at fruits at a market stand. It wasn't often that Sakaria was seen around the village and she didn't shop much because many of the vendors wouldn't sell her anything after learning who she was. It turned out, this was one of those cases as well because, upon hearing her name, the vendor snarled slightly and turned his open sign to closed, eying Sakaria suspiciously. Sakaria set down the apple she was looking at and sighed, looking toward Shikamaru, then walked away. "Sorry about that," he said, noticing his error. "Hey, I was thinking, a few of us are getting together later and going for a swim! I thought maybe you could come too!"

"I can't swim," Sakaria said flatly, declining his invitation just as she always had.

"Oh..." Shikamaru's voice trailed off for a moment. He wasn't used to putting forth much effort toward anything after being rejected. In fact, most of the time the rejection was welcomed because it meant he wouldn't have to follow through with any plans. In that moment, Sakaria's stomach growled. She didn't have much to eat at her apartment since she wasn't able to shop, and she was never sent out on any missions to earn money to eat out. Most of the time, her finances came from doing odd jobs for the villagers who would allow her to, but those were few and far between. "Well, we could go get something to eat!" Shikamaru said, trying once again to sound cheerful.

"You just said you had plans to go swimming," Sakaria replied. Her voice was unchanging.

"Yeah, but," Shikamaru moved to walk in front of her so she was forced to stop and actually engage in the seemingly one sided conversation they were having, "I'm okay with just getting something to eat and heading home. Swimming around for no reason isn't really my style anyway." This was true. Shikamaru really didn't see the point in going swimming, but whenever his friends got together, he had made more of an effort to go so that he could at least try to include Sakaria. "C'mon, let's go out and get some barbecue. My treat!" Shikamaru forced a smile, trying his best to get the girl before him to agree.

Sakaria looked up at him, searching his face and pondering why this boy, the laziest of all his comrades, was putting forth so much effort to include her in everything they did. "Would it just be you and I?"

"Sure, if you want." Shikamaru said, knowing she was usually more comfortable just spending time with him as opposed to all of his friends. This made integrating her into the group more difficult, but he didn't want to try and force her into anything that she didn't want to do. In the end, that would only harm his cause rather than help it. "Or, I could invite Choji, too. He's always down to eat. Especially barbecue." He tried his best to sound warm when talking about his friend, but the thought of his wallet being drained by Choji's insatiable appetite loomed over him. Still though, introducing her to one other friend was better than no one. The last time Sakaria had been around Choji was months prior, when they had captured her.

"Hm." Sakaria thought for a moment, not really wanting to commit to the plan, but nodded. She knew she couldn't avoid the invitations forever, and she might as well get it over with so she could go back to blowing him off for at least a little while.

"Cool, I'll come get you at six!" Shikamaru smiled, but Sakaria walked around him and continued down the road back to her apartment, her expression unchanged.

Later that evening, Shikamaru arrived at Sakaria's door, knocking several times before she shouted "Come in!" From somewhere in the back of the small home. Shikamaru awkwardly opened the door to find Sakaria standing in the doorway of her bathroom, wrapped in a towel and brushing her teeth. He blushed awkwardly.

"Uh, sorry..." Shikamaru said, confused. Why would she invite him in the house if she wasn't even dressed?

"No, it's fine. I'm just running a little late," Sakaria said, retreating back into the bathroom with the door still open, and spitting her toothpaste into the sink. "You can have a seat if you want, I'll just be a few minutes."

Shikamaru sat against the wall of her living room, a few feet away from the bathroom door so he could still hear her if she called anything out to him. He looked down at his watch and sighed. 6:08. Was Sakaria always this unpunctual? _Troublesome girl, _he thought, leaning his head against the wall. If they didn't get to the restaurant soon, Choji might eat them out of stock. From the open door, Shikamaru listened to the whir of the hairdryer for what seemed like ages, then Sakaria emerged, still wrapped in a towel, walking toward her bedroom. "I can wait outside if you want," Shikamaru said, trying not to direct his attention to her indecency. His face grew redder by the second.

"No, no," Sakaria reassured, "actually I was going to see if you could help me with something." Shikamaru's eyes widened. _What could she possibly need help with while wearing nothing but a towel?_ He tried to remain chivalrous, but his young mind wandered to places it shouldn't have.

"Uh, what do you need help with?" Shikamaru asked flatly, his voice creating a ruse of coolness to mask his embarrassment. Sakaria called him into her room. His heart caught in his throat until he found the girl standing in a small black dress in front of her closet, her long black hair draped over her shoulder.

"Could you zip this up for me?" Sakaria said, motioning toward her exposed back. "The zipper always gets caught on this thing."

Shikamaru, still embarrassed, walked toward her. "Why'd you get all dolled up?" He inquired cooly, convincing his hands to reach for the zipper. He was thankful her back was to him and she couldn't see his hands shaking violently as he grabbed the thin metal.

"Special occasion," Sakaria laughed, "Who knows when **this** will happen again?" She put emphasis on the word "this" as if going out with friends was a monumental accomplishment. Shikamaru smirked at her sense of humor and started zipping up her dress. Although attempting to focus, he had made note of her black lace panties peaking out at the bottom of the zipper. He shook it from his head and readjusted his mind on focusing toward keeping the fabric of the dress from catching in the zipper. As he pulled the zipper smoothly and carefully, Sakaria felt his finger glide up her back, sending goosebumps to her arms. There was a moment of awkward silence, then Sakaria turned and smiled. "Ready!" She said, putting her arms out as if she'd just performed a magic trick.

"Uh, Shoes?" Shikamaru said, looking down at her feet.

"Shit."

After forgetting multiple things before leaving the apartment, including to lock the door, Sakaria walked with Shikamaru down to the restaurant. "How'd you survive before you met me?" He joked, nudging her with his elbow. "I had to remind you of everything back there."

"I'm a little scatterbrained," Sakaria admitted, rubbing the back of her neck and smiling.

"Well, I'll do what I can to help." Shikamaru smiled down at her. They walked into the restaurant and met Choji who was already on his forth plate.

"It's about time, you two!" He griped.

"Sorry, we got caught up," Shikamaru said, casting a teasing glance at Sakaria who sat in the booth next to him.

"Gross," Choji replied judgmentally. Before the two across from him could correct his assumption, the waiter interrupted with a platter of food. "Let's eat before you take my appetite away."

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head while laughing, "I don't think anything in the world could do that!" The three of them laughed and enjoyed their meal, and Sakaria came out of her shell, making jokes to her two new friends and genuinely enjoying their company.

Afterwards, Shikamaru told Sakaria he would walk her home considering it was getting dark, and they said goodbye to Choji. "Look at you making friends," Shikamaru teased, offering his arm to Sakaria who took it without hesitation.

"I guess," Sakaria replied. Her expression was entirely changed from earlier that day when Shikamaru had invited her on the outing. A peaceful smile stretched across her face, and her dark eyes seemed bright and happy. "I didn't know you two were so funny together."

"Choji has been my best friend for a long time," Shikamaru said, looking up at the sky as the clouds started to disappear into the night. "I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Hm." Sakaria said, "I wish someone felt the same way about me." There was no sarcasm or malintent in her voice as she spoke her uncensored truth without really thinking.

Shikamaru suddenly stopped walking and looked down at her seriously.

"I feel that way about you..." His voice was solemn as if he were making a promise, and Sakaria looked up. Her mouth hung open slightly, vacant and unsure of what to say. "You're my friend, Sakaria." Shikamaru confirmed, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Maybe we haven't been around each other as long as me and Choji have, but if you were ever gone I'd..." He looked away, struggling with the right thing to say. He was never good at this kind of thing and always preferred action over well placed words. "I'd find you." He smiled, looking back to Sakaria but was shocked as she wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him tightly. He eased into her hold, and wrapped one arm around her back while placing the other on her head, holding her into his chest.

Sakaria pulled away and looked up at him. "Thanks, Shikamaru..."

He grinned, and offered his arm to her again, "Now c'mon, let's get you home so I can remind you to lock your door."

"Me?" Sakaria asked, still deep in thought, "No... no one will come looking for me." Part of her believed the words she said. Sure, Shikamaru said the things that he did, but maybe it was because he was trying to be nice. Sakaria validated that point in her head, deciding that Shikamaru wouldn't really put forth any effort to come after her if she was gone. Jugo's eyes lingered on her suspiciously for a moment, then he turned to gather some branches to start a fire.

"Sakaria, come over here!" Suigetsu called from the lake. He had taken off his akatsuki robe and his sword by the shore and was swimming around. Sakaria approached him, and he dunked his head under water, then appeared on the shoreline, propping his elbows on the dirt as the water washed underneath him. Confused, Sakaria looked on either side of him. How was he doing that? He looked like his body was still submerged in at least six feet of water, but it barley covered Sakaria's feet. "What is that face for?" Suigetsu asked, meeting her gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"How are you still completely submerged when there isn't even a foot of water here?" Sakaria asked, still looking around him.

"It's a water release technique," Suigetsu explained, slightly annoyed. "Geez, you really don't know anything about me, do you?"

"I guess not," Sakaria said, sitting on the shoreline without getting into the water. "How's it work?"

"I can transform any part of my body into water... That's why when you kicked me earlier, you didn't hit me." Sakaria nodded, starting to piece things together.

"So your lower half is..."

"Completely liquified!" Suigetsu replied, smiling at Sakaria's understanding. "Why don't you come for a swim, girlie? The water feels great!" His voice was coaxing as he looked at the Uchiha girl with a grin.

"Oh, I can't swim," Sakaria said, smiling back and declining. "I was never taught how." Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of anyone, let alone a shinobi, who couldn't swim.

"What would you do if you fell into water then?"

"Drown." Sakaria said, matter of factly. They both laughed.

"That's no good," Suigetsu remarked, thinking hard. "I bet I could teach you."

"Oh, no, no." Sakaria was suddenly nervous. "I don't really like getting into water... it kind of freaks me out."

Suigetsu took offense to this, and he turned his head. "What's so wrong with water!? It's a great way too cool down after all that running and-"

Sakaria, noticing she had hit a nerve, looked at him intently, and stroked his ego, "Sure, but it's dangerous." Dangerous. Suigetsu liked the sound of that word. Especially if it was referring to him.

"I guess you're right," Suigetsu agreed proudly. He turned and started to swim on his back, slightly further from the shore. "But, if you know how to manipulate it, water can be a great tool... and it works to your advantage in a lot of different ways."

Sakaria raised an eyebrow, unsure of whether he was really speaking about water or himself at this point. If he was talking about himself, she thought it was odd that he would reveal that he could be manipulated at all. "I don't like to manipulate things to get them to work... they either help me, or they don't." Sakaria said, confidently standing by her own values.

"Seems to me, you might have trouble trying to manipulate anything anyway," Suigetsu retorted, "Because you lack the understanding to do so. You're not like Sasuke at all..."

"What is **that** supposed to mean?" Sakaria asked angrily.

"No offense, but your brother is great at making things, and people, do what he needs them to do... if you want to be a great shinobi, you'll have to learn to do at least a little of that yourself and, in order to do that, you have to get an understanding of the thing you are trying to utilize." Suigetsu rambled, not caring if he hurt the girl's feelings. "But, if you are an Uchiha, I guess you're a fire style user... which would explain a lot." Sakaria tilted her head, suddenly curious although she was still insulted. "You don't have to have much control over fire in order for it to destroy something in your way. You just have to act as a vessel to introduce the fire to what you want destroyed. So, it would make sense that you would keep your 'it either helps me, or it doesn't,' attitude," Suigetsu elaborated while quoting her. "In order to rise to Sasuke's skill set, you're going to have to learn control and manipulation. You won't be able to learn any sort of lightening style if you don't... and then guys like me can take you out with no problem."

Sakaria stood, completely irate that Suigetsu would assume her strengths without ever seeing her in battle. She made a brief hand sign then cupped her hand around her mouth, blowing a large, impressive stream of fire in the direction of Jugo, who backed quickly away from the kindling he had been gathering. The fire lit, and Sakaria turned back to Suigetsu, expecting him to be at least slightly impressed with her power, but Suigetsu simply smirked, stood from the lake, walked over to the blaze and wrung a large amount of water from his hair onto it, putting it out instantly. "Don't get angry, fireball," Suigetsu teased, "I'm only trying to help." With that being said, Sakaria huffed away, searching the clearing for some place to blow off steam, and Jugo sighed at his water logged firewood, preparing to gather more.


	6. Chapter 6

Further into the clearing, hidden by a small slope in the land, Sakaria found a small hot spring carved into the earth perhaps by someone who used this place as a secret get away. She smiled at the chance to relax and take a bath, but it was getting late, and she didn't want to be in the dark alone. She walked back to the area where her two partners had constructed camp to find Suigetsu eating some fish by the fire Jugo had made. "Well, well, look who's done pouting," Suigetsu teased, grinning as he bit into his fish.

"I found a hot spring not too far from here," Sakaria said, ignoring him. "It looks like a nice place to take a bath."

"Then why haven't you?" Jugo asked inquisitively.

"Maybe later," Sakaria said, looking off into the night air. She decided revealing one weakness was enough for one day. Jugo, though still confused, decided not to force the matter and returned to eating a handful of blackberries he had found in the woods.

"You hungry, fireball?" Suigetsu asked, rather pleased with his new nickname for her. "I caught some fish earlier if you want some."

"No thanks," Sakaria replied. Her mind was becoming anxious with the night approaching. "Are we sleeping out here?"

Suigetsu looked over at Jugo confused by the question, then back at Sakaria. "Where else would we sleep?"

"We just always..." Sakaria stopped, thinking of how to word her sentence without including her past with Itachi, "I mean, I always built some kind of shelter if I was going to sleep outside." She thought back to the multiple times she traveled with her older brother, and how he always made sure to build a tent for them out of anything he could find if they had to camp outside. He was even sure to hang a small lantern as a sort of makeshift nightlight so Sakaria wasn't scared.

"That's a lot of wasted energy," Suigetsu shrugged. "The grass is good enough for us... But if **you **want to bust your ass building some kind of tent, more power to ya." Sakaria sat by the fire defeatedly. She knew she had no room to have such high expectations considering she didn't know how Itachi had managed to build those shelters, even if she had watched him do it a thousand times. Still though, the fire would go out while they were sleeping, and it would be pitch black in the clearing. Sakaria wasn't sure if she could handle being out in the dark without someone to wake up and talk to if she got scared. Maybe Suigetsu was right... Sakaria wasn't very strong after all, and she was learning with each passing moment that Itachi had babied her so much that it was proving to be problematic. This was turning out just as it had when she left her brother's side in the first place, only this time, if the leaf village came to capture her, it wouldn't be in her benefit.

When they decided to sleep, Suigetsu gathered a few sticks of wood that he could find and sharpened the ends into points with a kunai so he could stick them into the ground. Afterwards, he took his akatsuki robe and draped it over the top to make a makeshift roof. He looked over at Sakaria who had moved to the edge of the lake, skipping rocks into the water while the light of the fire still illuminated their area in the clearing. "Hey..." He walked over to her and stooped down. "I made you a spot to sleep." Sakaria, confused, looked up at the small canopy Suigetsu had forged and smiled up at him.

"You didn't have to do that," She said, appreciating the gesture although it wasn't quite what she had meant.

"I know I didn't... It's not like it's going to rain anytime soon," Suigetsu replied rubbing his chin. "I don't get it... but if it makes you more comfortable, who am I to judge." He shrugged his shoulders and held out his hand to help her up. Sakaria accepted his help and walked over to the area Suigetsu had prepared for her. "Goodnight!" He said, lying on the other side of the clearing. Sakaria smiled gently as she lied underneath the robe, thinking of Itachi as the pattern on it fluttered gently in the wind.

Hours passed and Sakaria couldn't sleep. Although the effort was sweet and appreciated, the canopy Suigetsu had made her was only casting shade over her, making it darker underneath. The fire had died down, and Jugo could be heard snoring gently somewhere nearby. The night had shaded everything into vague shapes, so when Sakaria decided to get up, she had to be careful not to step on her companions because she couldn't see where they were lying. Fearfully, she gathered some small sticks, walked into the area she had found earlier with the hot spring, and lit a small fire using her jutsu. She had decided to do this further away from Suigetsu and Jugo so the light wouldn't disturb their sleep. With the area illuminated, Sakaria decided to take a bath to calm her nerves, and stepped out of her clothes before sliding carefully into the spring surrounded by large boulders. The water was warm and inviting, causing Sakaria to relax quickly once inside. _This isn't so bad_. She thought, leaning her head against one of the large boulders behind her. _But, I am glad I built another fire._ She closed her eyes as the steam calmed her senses and relaxed her muscles.

Under the water, however, Suigetsu smirked at Sakaria's naked frame in front of him. Of course the girl had no way of knowing he was in the water before she got in, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted her to find out. He tried not to move as much as possible, but it was hard with Sakaria's entire body displayed in front of him. Suddenly, he scooted over as she moved to lie flat and submerge her hair in the spring. Thinking she was alone, Sakaria had no problem arching her back and allowing her breasts to skim the surface. Suigetsu grinned at this, contemplating whether or not he should completely dissolve and join in with the water that was already lucky enough to surround her petite body as she sat up and leaned her now soaked head against the rock.

Moments passed, and Suigetsu decided he couldn't sit back and stare any longer. Part of him had hoped she would have gotten out by now so he could wait for her to fall asleep and sneak off, taking only the memory of the vision he had received in return for her interrupting his own bath. That was not the case though, and it seemed Sakaria had really relaxed into the water, so Suigetsu hoped she wouldn't notice when his hand grazed against her upper thigh while the water moved gently over her.

At first, Sakaria thought the wind was simply blowing the water and creating a small current, but then she felt the unmistakable pressure of someone's touch on her hips. Startled, she covered what she could of her chest with one arm, then stood in the water, placing her free hand in between her thighs to attempt to cover the rest of her. As the fear faded, realization came through to her and she snarled, "Suigetsu! Get out of here!"

Sporting the same confident grin he had so many times before, Suigetsu popped his head above the water and smiled. "Fancy meeting **you** here, fireball!" He mused shamelessly.

"You're such a pervert! Get out of here already!"

"I'm the pervert? You're the one who interrupted my nice hot bath..." His face didn't change as he stayed still in the water.

"How can you take a bath with clothes on?" Sakaria asked flatly, remembering him swimming earlier in his purple shirt and white pants and assuming this case was the same. She was still working hard to cover her own skin, afraid to move and reveal herself to him.

Suigetsu raised his eyebrow, "Who said I was wearing clothes?" With that, he stood, revealing his strong chest and abdominal muscles. Sakaria turned her head and shut her eyes tightly before they ventured down too far.

"Gross! Go away, Suigetsu, I mean it!"

"Or what?" He mused, "You'll turn me into steam?" He laughed, and got slightly closer. "Besides, I don't know why you're so uncomfortable..." Sakaria turned to him again reluctantly as he reached out a hand to her. "I've already seen everything there is to see." Her face turned blood red and she swatted his hand away with the one that had been between her thighs.

"I can't believe you!" Sakaria said, her embarrassment forming into anger, "What the hell have you been doing down there this whole time!?"

"Hey, hush, you'll wake Jugo." Suigetsu warned. "I was just admiring... trust me, had I been doing anything else, you would have felt it. I would have made sure of it." His grin widened confidently, and he reached for her again, this time succeeding in taking her free arm and leading her back to sit in the water. He noticed that the word "admiring" struck her ear differently than anything else he had said to her, because a slight smile crossed her lips for a moment despite her anger.

Settling back into the spring and ensuring she was covered by the water, Sakaria sighed, still feeling awkward that her new companion was naked in the same pool with her... not to mention he had been eyeballing her without her realizing for the past half hour. Suigetsu, still grinning, sat across from her, making sure there was enough room in between them that she didn't feel threatened. "I can't believe you..." Sakaria finally repeated, feeling as though fighting with him was meaningless. He was right. There was no point in shooing him away when he'd been staring at her naked all this time.

"Can't you?" Suigetsu mused, "You came into the water with **me**, girlie... not the other way around." He splashed her a little and smirked, "Can't blame a guy for looking at something that was put on display, can ya?"

"I wasn't putting anything on display for you, you weirdo." Sakaria turned her head and crossed her arms while sticking her nose up in the air.

"Well, it was a beautiful sight to see, regardless." For whatever reason, Sakaria melted out of her stuck up stance, and looked over at him, her face on fire from blushing. She didn't say anything as she looked into the pool below her in an attempt to hide her face. "I'm just disappointed it happened in such low lighting."

"Look, Suigetsu, I'm really embarrassed by all this..." Sakaria admitted after sighing, "Can you just finish your bath and get out so we can pretend this never happened?"

"Embarrassed? Now I'm really confused." Suigetsu raised his eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. I obviously didn't mean for this to happen. And besides... nobody has ever seen me... well... ya know..." Her voice trailed off as she looked out of the spring, suddenly wishing she could disappear in water like her friend could.

"Oh," Suigetsu grinned, "You should be more confident." He scooted closer to her, trying to meet her gaze. "That's part of your problem. If you're not confident in yourself, you're never going to try anything new."

"Don't try to turn this into some life lesson, Suigetsu," Sakaria said, rolling her eyes and then snapping her head over to notice how close he was.

"I'm not," Suigetsu admitted, grinning wickedly, "wanna try something new?"

"H-hey... what are you doing!?" Sakaria leaned away from him, avoiding his leering purple eyes. Suigetsu noticed her discomfort and splashed her a little.

"I'm just kidding!" He sneered. Sakaria eased back again, but Suigetsu didn't scoot away. "You should stop being so uptight, ya know?"

"You've got an awful lot to say about the way I should act for someone who was hiding in a pool of water peeping on someone else." Sakaria said glaring.

"I told you, I wasn't trying to look at you... it just happened." Suigetsu looked away for a moment. "Why did you come out here anyway? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Sakaria sighed, giving in to the fact that the awkward conversation she was having wasn't going to end. "I couldn't sleep."

"Thinking about me, huh?" Suigetsu said, attempting to lighten the mood. When she rolled her eyes and didn't reply, he decided to stop jesting momentarily. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Huh?" She replied, meeting his concerned gaze.

"It's just... You seem sort of on edge now." Suigetsu's purple eyes searched her's while the fire light flickered across her face.

"Oh, no," She responded sarcastically, "Why would I be on edge? The man I'm going to be traveling with, who also happens to be teammates with my brother, just happened to see me completely naked just now. No big deal."

"It really isn't a big deal," Suigetsu said, still serious. "I know it was probably a little embarrassing, but it's not like I'm gonna run and tell your brother all about it." She tried to look away, but Suigetsu moved to face her again. "And, I meant what I said... I think you're beautiful."

"You're just saying that so I'll..." Suigetsu waited her to finish her sentence after she trailed off, but she didn't. "You know..."

"Trust me, fireball, if that was the case, I would have just done it." Sakaria seemed shocked by Suigetsu's honesty. "It's not like you knew I was here. It wouldn't have been that hard... But I didn't do that, because I'm not into getting things like that in conniving ways. I sure as hell wouldn't try to convince you to give me anything if you were anything less than sure... Sasuke would put me in a water bottle if I ever even tried." He managed to get Sakaria to laugh at this point, and he smiled back at her, his tooth showing over his lower lip like usual. "But, if that's what's on** your** mind, maybe you should do some thinking and figure out why." With that, Suigetsu stood and jumped out of the bath, returning to his clothes and his resting place nearby.

Once he was gone, Sakaria got out of the water and dressed herself. After wringing out her hair, she attempted to rest by the fire she had made but did very little sleeping after thinking about what Suigetsu had said.

"C'mon Sakaria, you're drunk," Shikamaru warned, holding the small, black haired girl by the arm. He was attempting to walk her home after a night out with their friends.

"I'm not! I'm not!" She giggled back, holding her shoes in her hand, while Shikamaru held the other. "Let go, I can walk!" Shikamaru sighed and did as he was told, watching his friend stumble a few feet then fall forward. He rolled his eyes and cast his jutsu, connecting their shadows. He started to walk forward and, because of the shadow possession, so did Sakaria. "Whoa! What is happening to my legs!?" She giggled, unable to move on her own.

"I think you had a** little** too much to drink," Shikamaru said, walking up a short set of stone steps and through a gate. Sakaria noticed the symbol on the entryway and gasped.

"Shikamaru, this isn't the way to my house!" She pointed out loudly.

"Shh..." Shikamaru released his shadow possession and caught her, holding her close as they walked forward in an effort to keep her quieter so they wouldn't wake anyone up. "It's not the way to your house, but it is the way to mine."

"WHY ARE W-" Shikamaru put a hand over her mouth and stopped to gaze down at her seriously. Sakaria, although inebriated, took the hint and whispered when he took his hand away, "Why are we going to your house?"

"Because," Shikamaru said, stepping onto his front porch and opening the door, "I don't think I can get you up those stairs to your apartment, and I really don't think you should be by yourself."

"Why not?" Sakaria giggled, clumsily stepping inside.

"Because, I don't want you wandering off and doing something stupid or getting hurt." Shikamaru stumbled through the dark house, managing to get his friend down the hallway and into his room before shutting the door and turning the light on. "Be quiet, okay? My mom and dad are asleep." Sakaria nodded before falling onto his bed, giggling quietly into his grey comforter. _At least she's a happy drunk,_ he thought, still annoyed that Naruto had given her so much sake "just to see what she acts like." He turned and looked through his closet for a moment, then turned back to Sakaria. "Hey, put these on." He had managed to find an old pair of sweat pants he wore as a genin. They were way too small for him, but he knew they'd fit her.

"Whyyyyy," Sakaria whined, rolling her face into the blanket she was laying on.

"Don't you want to get more comfortable?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow. She was happy... but she made absolutely no sense.

"No."

Shikamaru sighed. "What do I have to do to get you in these pants?" He started to get annoyed, thinking he might have already been asleep if it hadn't been for her.

"In your pants...?" Sakaria asked, rolling over and looking at him through the hair that had fallen over her face, "Nothing." Shikamaru blushed at her shameless honesty, and reached his hand out to her.

"Thanks, but I meant getting you ready for bed." He pulled her up and sat her on the bed, brushing her hair out of her face. He took her shoes, which were still gripped in her hand, and set them by the door then came back to her and squatted in front of the bed. "You think you can manage to put these on?" He looked into her eyes, which were glassy and unfocused and sighed again. "Do you want me to help you?" Sakaria leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and he scooped her up in his arms, holding her for a minute longer than he needed to before setting her feet firmly on the floor. "Hold on to my shoulders," he instructed, trying to steady her. However this was hard for Sakaria because she was so short so she instead, gripped the fabric of his shirt on his chest, leaning backwards as the room spun around her. Shikamaru pulled her closer to him and unzipped the white dress she was wearing. He quickly averted his gaze to the ceiling after catching a brief glimpse of the lilac colored lace panties and bra she was wearing. "Why don't girls wear anything under these things?" He growled aloud, still frustrated with the struggle that was ensuing in addition to trying not to focus on what was under Sakaria's dress.

Sakaria, as best as she could, stood and let her arms down, looking downward as the dress fell to her feet in a pool, then she looked up at Shikamaru, whose gaze was fixated at the ceiling. Her stance wobbled slightly as she reached up to his face, causing him to look down at her. "I **am** wearing something!" She said happily, out stretching her arms just as she had when he had zipped up her dress at her apartment all those nights ago. This time, though, she had no control of her balance, and fell again onto Shikamaru's bed face up. Against his better judgement, Shikamaru stared much longer than he should have, taking in the vision of the girl outstretched on his bed. The lilac bra she was wearing had a cute little bow in the center that was barely visible due to her large breasts pushing together, and the matching panties were almost completely see through. Shikamaru wanted nothing more than to run his hands across her soft skin, and put her to sleep in the only way a young man and his intuition when a half naked woman is lying on his bed would know how, but he shook the thought from his head, feeling terribly about it and reached for the pants he had found for her. As he took her right foot and attempted to slide it into the pant leg, Sakaria flailed away, giggling violently into her hands.

"Shhh," Shikamaru reminded, a small smirk crossing his face. She made no sense... but she was cute.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Sakaria said, her volume lowering with each repetition of the word. "my feet are very tickly... ticklish."

"Noted," Shikamaru said, flatly, still trying his best to get her leg into the pants. "Sakaria," His voice was stern now, "**stay still**."

Sakaria sat up on her elbows, her mouth turned into a small frown while she attempted to steady herself. "Are you mad at me?" Small tears started to bead into her black eyes.

"No!" Shikamaru said, letting go of her foot, and putting his hand on her knee. "I'm not **mad**. I'm just trying to get you in these pants so you can go to sleep." He huffed slightly as the girl sat up and fell forward to him, resting her head in the crook of his neck. He could feel her hot tears soaking into his shirt, but she was quiet, only making a small sniffling sound here and there. "Don't cry, Sakaria. I'm not mad at you." At this point, he felt more like he was babysitting a toddler than helping his friend get in bed.

"I can't put those pants on Shikamaru," Sakaria cried quietly, her voice muffled by his neck.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked, entirely uninterested in the bogus answer her brain was going to come up with.

"Because, I'm too tired..." Sakaria whined quietly. Shikamaru sighed.

_Fair point..._ He thought, throwing the pants in the pile of other clothes by his closet door. "Me too." He pulled away and brushed her hair away again, which had started sticking to her face from the tears. "Okay, well, let's get you in bed." He pulled the blankets down and picked her up, feeling her head wobble while she tried to focus on something in the room. After finally laying her down, he pulled the blankets over her, turned off the light, and started to walk to the door, but her hand shot out from the bed and reached for his. He stopped after feeling her touch and turned back around. "What is it now?" He asked, disappointed because he thought he had finally completed his goal.

"The dark..." Sakaria reminded.

"Oh..." He looked around momentarily, then looked back at her, "I don't have a lamp or anything, Sakaria..."

"Please don't make me be by myself," Sakaria mumbled, looking up at him sadly with her glassy eyes.

"I..." Shikamaru didn't know what to say, he rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed. "I can't sleep in here with you. You're half dressed..."

"I don't care. I'm scared," Sakaria moused, still holding his hand in hers. Shikamaru sighed. The alcohol took away her filter, but it most certainly did not take away her fears. He walked over to the other side of the bed and pulled the blanket down, admitting defeat as he laid beside her. Putting his arms behind his head so he wouldn't be tempted to reach out to her, he relaxed and closed his eyes, only to feel Sakaria's warmth roll over to him and lay on his chest. He tried not to move so that she wouldn't feel as though he was trying anything suspicious, but, after a few quiet moments, Sakaria sat up and straddled him, pressing down on him uncomfortably. "You don't like me, do you?" She asked, trying her best to look into his eyes.

"I thought you were tired..." Shikamaru muttered, trying to ignore the grinding motion that was occurring at their waists each time she attempted to sit up straight.

"I'm curious," Sakaria retorted, sounding rather clever. Shikamaru tried to put his hand on her back to ease her back down, but she refused, her waist pushing down on him more.

"I like you." Shikamaru sighed, trying to avoid the conversation in fear that it might lead somewhere it shouldn't. "You're great to be around."

"But do you** like** like me," Sakaria grinned, completely unaware of the torture she was putting him through.

"If I say yes, will you go to sleep?"

"No, you have to say the truth!" Sakaria seemed stern considering her current state.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes in the dark, and tried his best to readjust their position so he didn't feel so badly about it. Sakaria fought for a moment, trying to maintain her stare into his eyes, but Shikamaru was stronger than her, so he flipped her over. He adjusted himself so he could see her and hoped she wouldn't remember this moment in the morning. "Yeah, I like you, alright?" He said, annoyed that he had to admit it to her while she was intoxicated. He could still feel himself pushed against her, but pulled away and laid back beside her before his urges could take over his head. "I didn't mean for it to happen... and it's really cliche, but I can't help it..." His voice was quiet as he stared up at the ceiling while he spoke, trying to pretend she wasn't there. "It's a pain... but..." He tried to gather the words he wanted to say, but was crumbling after being put on the spot, "I don't know, I've never really thought about someone like this, so...It's just different..." He started feeling nauseous when she didn't interject, and then wondered why he even started talking to her about this in the first place. "Do you... want to do something about it or..." The room was still quiet, and he lifted his head, finding it odd at this point that she hadn't replied. "Sakaria?" He placed his hand on her shoulder, only to find that she was sleeping soundly. He smirked, feeling slightly relieved. "Troublesome girl," he muttered as he rolled over to finally fall asleep himself.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, girlie," Sakaria's eyes shot open as Suigetsu nudged her with his foot, "You get enough sleep?" Unlike the night before, he was fully clothed except for his akatsuki robe that was still hanging on the makeshift canopy he had created. Sakaria sat up, rubbing her eyes, almost sad that the memory playing in her head of hanging out with Shikamaru and the others at the bar was only that; a memory.

"Where are we going?" Sakaria asked, yawning tiredly from the lack of sleep.

"Well, Jugo is heading out ahead of us to make sure those Samurai who locked us up before are still busy with the war…" Sakaria started to interject, confused by what he meant, but Suigetsu ignored her and continued, "You and I are going to stay here, and you are going to learn to swim." At this point, Sakaria stood up, shaking her head violently.

"After last night, I'm never getting in water with you again!" She shouted, causing a small animal somewhere in the trees surrounding them to skitter away. "You're out of your mind!"

"Look, fireball, I'm not having you drown before I can get you to your brother, alright? And if you're gonna be around me, you're gonna be around water, so don't even try to give me some excuse as to why you don't need to learn." Suigetsu was firm in his decision. "Besides, what happened last night, happened. It's over with."

"Yeah, but I don't have anything to swim in," Sakaria said, raising an eyebrow, "and I don't exactly want part two of the peep show to occur."

"That's on you," Suigetsu shrugged, walking back toward the lake, "The way I see it is, you can either decide what you're going to swim in, be it your clothes or your birthday suit, or…" He unsheathed the sword from his back, "I can get you in the water the hard way."

Knowing she was no match for him currently, Sakaria trekked up the hill slowly, and gazed into the lake. "These are the only clothes I have," She mumbled as if Suigetsu didn't already know. "and I don't want to ruin them…"

"I've never understood people like you, worried about getting your clothes wet," Suigetsu said, taking a sip of his water bottle.

"I'm sorry," Sakaria replied sarcastically, "I forgot. Everyone can just transform into water, clothes and all."

Suigetsu grinned, and set down his sword and water bottle, then pulled his shirt off. "Would it help you out if I was naked too?"

"How in the hell would that help me!?" Sakaria asked, burying her face in her palm.

"I dunno…" Suigetsu said, thinking hard, "Isn't it like, less embarrassing if someone else does it with you?"

"NO!" Sakaria yelled. She stood, frustrated and looked into the water. "Do we have to do this right now? I mean, I just woke up and-"

"No, No," Suigetsu said, reassuringly, "We can wait until Jugo gets back… Then we'll only have to let your brother and Karin see you naked before everyone in the group has!" Suigetsu grinned sarcastically. This did not cause Sakaria to give in, however, and she only crossed her arms and looked away.

"I'm just not going to learn to swim, then. You won't hurt me… Sasuke would kill you in two seconds if you did." She said decidedly.

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at her spoiled tone, then chuckled quietly and sighed. "I guess you're right." Sakaria shot a surprised look over at him.

"I am?"

"Sure," Suigetsu mused, "In fact, you're not even worth the time it would take to teach you to swim." Sakaria's eyebrows furrowed as she listened to him, sure he was just trying to piss her off enough to make her jump in. "It's sad, ya know… you might be a pretty useful kunoichi if you weren't such a stubborn, stuck up little bitch." Her eyes shot toward him. "But, I guess it's to be expected… I mean, from what Sasuke tells me, you were an accident… you weren't even supposed to be born… so it's no surprise that the last living woman of the Uchiha clan is a waste of space. It's not like you'll be able to carry on your name. You'll get a husband, change your surname and lose the last interesting thing about you…Then nobody in the world will even care that you exist…"

"Shut the fuck up!" Sakaria shouted, kicking at Suigetsu's torso. This almost caught him off guard, but he managed to transform before she landed the hit, leaving her foot soaked in water. Suigetsu appeared again a few feet away from where he was initially standing and smiled.

"Prove me wrong, fireball." He said, grinning wide. Sakaria started taking off her clothes hastily, and Suigetsu watched, satisfied that he could get under her skin so easily. Suddenly, Sakaria was standing in front of him in a black bra and panties, staring into the water below her. "You're going to leave those on?" Suigetsu asked, genuinely confused, "What's the point in that?"

"Just shut up, and let's get this over with," Sakaria snapped, nervously looking down. She could feel the heat rising in her face as she focused on the water, wondering if drowning was a better option than what was about to take place.

"That won't do…" Suigetsu said, jumping in. "If you want to learn to swim, we have to go slow… If you do it too quickly, you might panic and take in water." He swam out further, then circled back to her, feeling refreshed as the lake water cooled his skin. "Want to give me your hand?" He stood, and walked up to her, holding his hand out.

"How do I know you're not just going to pull me in?" Sakaria asked skeptically.

"After all that lecturing I just did?" Suigetsu replied, annoyed. "Just give me your hand. I'm not going to drown you." Sakaria reached out, putting her warm hand in Suigetsu's cold, wet palm. "Now," he said, walking backwards, "I'm going to take you out to where you can still touch the lake bottom with your feet, and we're going to go from there." Sakaria walked forward with him, wincing as she was immersed in the cold water and it covered up to her shoulders. Suigetsu could feel her getting nervous as they walked in so he stopped. "Hey," Sakaria looked up at him and met his purple eyes, "You're not going to drown." He said confidently. Sakaria nodded, swallowing hard. Suddenly, the loudmouthed girl who had been standing at the edge of the lake, was quiet and insecure again.

Suigetsu smiled and took her into his arms, then pushed off the lake bottom with his feet into a deeper area. Sakaria panicked, clung to him tightly, and shook her head violently. "I can't do it, Suigetsu, just put me back over there. I'm going to drown. Please." Suigetsu stayed calm, treading water and managing to keep his friend from sinking to the bottom of the lake despite her protest.

"You're right," Suigetsu said calmly, his voice still somehow cheerful over the sound of splashing water while Sakaria tensed in his hold, "If you keep moving around like that, you are gonna drown." Sakaria, more out of instinct and fear than anything, wrapped her arms and legs around Suigetsu's torso, digging her nails into his back like a cat being given a bath. Suigetsu, still unfazed, continued to hold them both up in the same place. "Relax," he cooed into Sakaria's ear as she held on tightly, "what happened to that can-do attitude?" She didn't reply and held on tighter. "Remember, you said it yourself, I won't hurt you… Sasuke would kill me in two seconds." Sakaria began to relax in his arms. "Open your eyes whenever you're ready."

Confused by his sudden patience, Sakaria opened her eyes and tried to ignore the breath caught in her throat as though her lungs were telling her body they might need the excess air any second. She avoided looking around in fear that it would only worsen her anxiety and instead focused on Suigetsu's purple eyes and slight smile. "Please don't let me go," she moused, accepting that the situation was entirely out of her control.

Suigetsu's smile suddenly faded into a look of confusion, then he shook his head and smiled again, "I won't let you go until you're ready," he said, patting her head with his free hand as the other wrapped under her. Sakaria didn't seemed comforted by this, however, and he quickly caught on that she was holding her breath, "Hey…" He repeated and lifted her chin a little so that she would focus a little more, "breathe." Her breaths became shaky and shallow, and Suigetsu decided it was better than nothing. "I'm guessing you never learned to walk on water…" He assumed, trying to get her to talk about something other than her current circumstance.

"N-no…" Sakaria replied, trying to think, "I… Itachi never taught me because I was always so afraid… and I guess… he just didn't want to force me."

"Where did this fear of water come from?" Suigetsu asked, genuinely curious.

Sakaria studied his face, suddenly entirely focused on the question, "I don't know…" She answered, trying to think of a valid reason. "I've just always been afraid of water… just like I've always been afraid of the dark…"

"Have you ever tried not being afraid of those things?" Suigetsu asked, suddenly understanding her need for a tent the night before, "I mean, the only way to not be afraid of something is to understand it, right?"

"I know, but I guess I never really had to face my fears… I've always had someone or something around to help me." She admitted.

"I don't agree that it's helped you so far," Suigetsu said, "They might have temporarily solved your problem or calmed you down, but helping you would mean giving you the resources to overcome the problem, not putting a bandage on a stab wound, right?" Sakaria nodded, agreeing with him reluctantly. She hadn't noticed but while they had been talking, her feet had started to tread water with Suigetsu's and her grip on him had lessened substantially. "Sometimes you just have to approach something head on," he continued, "and you have to understand why you're afraid of something so you won't be afraid of it anymore."

"I told you already, I don't know why I'm afraid of water or the dark… it's just the way I've always been."

"I don't think you're afraid of water," Suigetsu said, causing a puzzled look to cross Sakaria's face. "I think you're afraid of the unknown. Think about it…you don't like the dark because you can't see what's in it… and you don't have any problem getting into water as long as you can touch the bottom… but once you realize you can't," Suigetsu looked down at her feet as they moved back and forth in the water, causing Sakaria to look down and tense up again, pulling herself back into her original spot wrapped around his waist. Suigetsu laughed as she proved his point. "You just don't like not knowing what comes next is all," he mused.

"W-what are you? Some kind of therapist!?" Sakaria griped, trying to calm herself again though her face was buried into Suigetsu's neck. Suigetsu simply chuckled and held her closer to him. For a moment, they were quiet, both unsure of what to say as the waterfall roared behind them, then Suigetsu grinned at her.

"Nope. A therapist wouldn't do something like this!" Suddenly, the figure Sakaria was holding morphed into water and splashed away, causing her to panic and sink into the lake. She kicked as hard as she could to return to the surface, then, after breaking above water, took in large gasping breaths of air.

"You jerk!" Sakaria screamed, clumsily making her way to the area that her feet could touch again. When she reached it, she coughed up the water she had taken in, and looked across the lake for Suigetsu, who was nowhere to be seen. "You said you wouldn't let me go!"

With that, Suigetsu's smug grin popped above the water, several feel away, "I said I wouldn't let you go until you were ready!" Suigetsu corrected, laughing a little.

"You could have killed me!"

"Oh hush," he replied, rolling his eyes, "I was here the whole time. And look at you! You made it didn't you?" Sakaria looked down, realizing she had, in fact, somehow swam to safety by herself. "You're just going to have to face facts… you can't always predict what's going to happen…Don't be such a drama queen, fireball." He mused, swimming closer, then walking up to her once he hit ground. He looked down at her small frame and put his hand back on the top of her head. "I told you you wouldn't drown." For some reason in this moment, Sakaria completely took in Suigetsu's form as he stood shirtless in front of her. She couldn't understand why, but she was drawn to his interesting characteristics; his purple eyes and soft, white hair the complete opposite to his sarcastic and indifferent personality. Sakaria stood in the water, still gazing up at him with his hand still placed on her head until she noticed his smile change to a look of concern. "Um… Are you alright?" He said, pulling his hand away, "Your face looks a little flushed. How much water did you swallow, exactly?"

"I'm fine, you idiot," Sakaria said, turning suddenly and storming back to dry land, her face completely red. I must be losing it… Sakaria thought, wringing out her long black hair, There's no way I can like a guy like that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Shikamaru!?" Sakura asked, her mouth full of ramen as she sat beside Sakaria on a park bench, sharing lunch. "That guy doesn't care about anything." The pink haired girl had come to ask if her company had heard anything from Sasuke just as she did every other day since Sakaria had arrived in the leaf village a few months prior, and the conversation turned from there. Sakaria asked why she was so interested in her brother so Sakura confessed her love for him, just as almost all the other kunoichi her age had, and that eventually lead to her asking if Sakaria was interested in anyone herself.

"I don't know," Sakaria said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously, "He's just different from everyone else." She really wasn't used to having these "girl talks," considering the only person she'd really talked to for years was Itachi.

Sakura looked over to her, an eyebrow raised, "I just don't get it… why in the world would anyone like a guy like that? I mean, he's definitely no Sasuke…" She took note of Sakaria's lowered head and decided to change direction. Who am I to stand in the way of love? She thought. "You know, you should talk to Ino, I bet she'd have some way to win Shikamaru's heart!" She announced girlishly. Sakaria quickly put her hands in front of her, waving them in defense.

"Oh, no!" She replied awkwardly, "It's not like I want to date him or anything! Besides, I'm three years younger than you guys!" She reminded, trying to think of any excuse she could so that Shikamaru wouldn't find out about her crush from Sakura and her loudmouthed rival.

"Three years is nothin'" Sakura said, blowing her off, "besides, some guys are way in to younger girls…" Sakaria's face flushed as she turned away from Sakura's direction, scowling.

"I just think he's nice, is all!" Sakaria said, annoyed, "If I was going to have an interest in anyone it would be him, but only because I haven't really paid any attention to anyone else. Shikamaru is the only person I really hang out with." Her voice was flat as she reminded the pink haired girl of this. "Some of us have better things to do than chase after boys all day."

"Well, you could hang out with the rest of us, but you don't really seem to want to talk most of the time. When I come to see you, you're usually really short with me even though I never know why…"

"It's because you're annoying," Sakaria said, standing and walking away from her. Sakura looked down for a moment, feeling hurt, then stood and followed after her.

"Sakaria," Sakura called gently, trying to shake off the Uchiha girl's insult and the way it reminded her of Sasuke. Sakaria stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I just want you to know… If some of us didn't 'chase after boys all the time,' no one would be looking for your brother…" With that, the pink haired girl walked away, and Sakaria clenched her fists before heading back to her apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

Later that evening, Sakaria had dried off completely and was sitting by the fire she made so Suigetsu could cook something to eat. They had been mostly quiet that evening, which was odd for Suigetsu considering he seemed to always have something to say. His young comrade finally broke the silence. "Do you think Jugo will be back soon?" She asked, turning her gaze from the woods toward Suigetsu.

"Who knows?" Suigetsu shrugged, heavily focused on not burning his fish, "He might not come back at all." His voice was very straightforward and honest as if the thought of their partner not returning didn't bother him in the slightest.

"Hmm," Sakaria drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly at the thought. She figured by now she would be used to losing people, and she wasn't exactly close to Jugo, but for some reason, the thought of him not coming back weighed heavily on her.

"What's the matter, fireball? Does someone have a little crush?" Sakaria looked up at him, shocked at his accusation. How was he so oblivious?

"I'd rather throw myself into the lake than feel that way about either of you," She said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Well, you can do that now, because you can swim!" Suigetsu teased, not looking up from his fish. Sakaria sighed and leaned back on her hands, meeting his gaze while he stared at his dinner.

"You're gonna burn that, you know?" Sakaria said, raising her eyebrow at him. How long had he been on his own cooking fish like that? It's a wonder he ever ate anything at all.

"I can cook a fish, girlie. Why don't you worry about getting something to eat for yourself? Cause this is all for me!" Suigetsu said greedily, suddenly seeming offended. He pulled the fish out of the fire and blew a small flame off of it. It was small and black at this point, looking more like a brick of charcoal than food. Sakaria walked over to him and took the stick from his hand without replying, then, after taking the burnt fish off, skewered a new one on and held it above the flames rather than inside of them as Suigetsu had been doing. He watched her, suddenly intrigued, and moments later was handed a perfectly cooked fish. Suigetsu scowled a little and bit into it, trying not to give away how much better it was than the way he had been eating them all these years.

"You can't put things directly into the fire," Sakaria said, "They will burn every time. You have to hold it above it so it heats up evenly." She looked over, watching as he enjoyed his dinner, still pouting that she had done a better job than he had. "Then again, you seem like the type to always just put things directly into the fire." She teased.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean," He mumbled with his mouth full.

"I mean, you just jump into things without giving them time to develop. Some stuff just doesn't work that way." He suddenly thought back to the night prior and the incident in the hot spring.

"Hasn't ever failed me before," He shrugged, suddenly talking about something other than cooking fish.

"Yeah, hence why you've been eating burnt fish your whole life," Sakaria laughed, "Good things come to those who wait." Suigetsu looked up at her smirking.

"It's hard for me to be patient," He said after swallowing his last bite, his sharp teeth showing through his arrogant smile, "If I want something, I get it." Sakaria felt a chill go down her back, and she looked away, hiding her blushed face from him with the light of the fire.

"It's getting late," she said, changing the subject, "we should probably call it a night."

"You mean, you don't wanna take another bath?" Suigetsu's grin widened, and Sakaria rolled her eyes.

"No, thanks," She said sarcastically, "I think you've had enough entertainment for one day." She stood and pulled Suigetsu's akatsuki robe down from the sticks he had placed it on. "Here," she said, handing it back to him.

"My tent wasn't good enough for you either?" He scoffed, "First you insult my cooking, and now this!" They both laughed a little, and Sakaria shook her head.

"It's not that, I just thought maybe you'd want it to sleep in. It's going to get cold tonight," she pointed out, feeling a cool breeze rush through the clearing.

"How are you gonna keep warm?" He asked, pretending not to care.

"I mean, I guess I'll just lay beside the fire until it goes out… I told you, these are the only clothes I have." She watched as Suigetsu, who hadn't waited for her answer and wasn't really listening, spread the robe out on the ground and laid down on one side of it on his back, leaving an empty space beside him.

"Get over here," he said, sounding as if it was a chore to offer.

"No, really, I can jus-"

"I wasn't asking," his head didn't turn from its original position, and he spoke still looking up at the night sky. Sakaria, too tired to argue, laid down beside him on her back, joining his gaze. After a long pause, Suigetsu said without turning, "How can you be so scared of this?" He watched as a comet shot across the sky.

"The stars are beautiful," Sakaria admitted, "But they're not enough to light up everything down here."

"How'd you sleep before? When you were in your village?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"I had a night light," She laughed, still looking up at the sky.

Suigetsu was quiet for a moment, then he turned to face her, "Don't you think the stars and the moon are a little like a night light?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Sakaria turned to answer but was caught off guard by how close they were laying when her nose brushed against his. They were both silent for a moment, then she looked back up, blushing.

"I guess."

Suigetsu sighed and turned his back to her, getting ready to attempt to fall asleep, "Well, goodnight."

Sakaria didn't reply, and turned over as well, putting her back to his and fearing the silence that would follow when her companion would drift off. She admitted that being closer to him helped, but she still felt unsafe. Her mind started to wander as the sound of the wind in the trees made her think of all the scary things that could happen in the night. What if a wolf was nearby? Or worse, what if someone was out there watching them? What if someone had killed Jugo and was now looking for them too? What if she couldn't wake Suigetsu in time? What if she fell asleep, and they killed her while she was out? What if- Her thoughts were stopped in their tracks by Suigetsu who rolled over and wrapped his arm around her.

"I think you've faced enough fears for one day," he whispered into her ear, holding her close to him. Somehow, she eased into his arms and drifted off to sleep without fear.


	9. Chapter 9

Shikamaru watched tensely as Sakaria cleaned the house she was ordered to without speaking. She had been very withdrawn for the past few days. Now, he understood why. "You can't just leave the village and go off to find your brother on your own." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Sakaria sighed and placed the mop she was using back into her bucket of water. "And why not, Shikamaru?" She asked, annoyed, "You're just going to let him kill Itachi? Is that it?"

"It isn't our place to interfere with that. Sasuke is rogue! And besides, I don't understand why you're protecting Itachi. Have you forgotten the entire reason Sasuke is after him in the first place? And you realize that we just got word that Sasuke killed Orochimaru right? You could put yourself in grave danger if you even tried to get close to him."

"He is my brother!" Sakaria reiterated. "If I could just talk to him I know I could-"

"You could what? Convince him to abandon this crazy obsession he's had with avenging your clan this entire time and come home? We've tried talking. We've exhausted talking. Nothing gets through to him," Shikamaru said, looking up with his eyebrows furrowed, "You aren't going to be able to talk him out of this. Why don't you let the leaf do what they feel is best? We were all Sasuke's comrades at one point. We all know how you feel."

Sakaria scoffed, advancing toward him while taking off her cleaning gloves, "You all have no idea how I feel!" Her voice was venomous and low. "You want me to sit back and obey the leaf village's orders? You want me to clean houses and call them 'missions' while everyone else gets to decide what happens to my family!?" She slammed her gloves on the table in front of Shikamaru who stood and looked down at her firmly.

"We have to follow Lady Tsunade's orders on this, Sakaria. This isn't something I have any control over," he reminded. "Trust me, if it was up to me, you would be helping us out on the field doing real missions, but Tsunade doesn't think you should leave the village."

"And why is that, Shikamaru?" She glared, "because Sasuke slipped through the Leaf's fingers? Because you all think you know us so well that you can devise some plan to get him back while I watch like some helpless victim? That has worked so well so far hasn't it?"

"I don't know why you're acting like it's me calling the shots here! I'm only following orders!" Shikamaru said, throwing his hands up in frustration, "Besides, you keep saying things like 'he's my brother,' and 'I know him,' but it has been years since you've even seen Sasuke! You don't know him any better than the rest of us do." His voice almost trailed off as he realized the error in his words. Though it didn't happen often, Shikamaru's frustration ended up clouding his cadence, making him seem insensitive.

Sakaria was enraged by this, and looked up at him with hate in her eyes. "Stop pretending like you have any idea what is going on. You all think because you went to school with him that you could write a book on Sasuke, but you can't." She took off her apron, crumpled it up and threw it on the floor as hard as she could. "If either of my brothers die, I'll never forgive any of you." With that, she walked out of the house, slamming the door behind her so hard it almost came off the hinges and stormed away.

Shikamaru stood and walked out on the porch, calling to her in an attempt to apologize, but it fell on deaf ears. "Hey, wait! Sakaria!... Sakaria!"

"Sakaria!" A voice echoed through the trees, causing Sakaria to stop dead in her tracks. Suigetsu, who was only a little behind stopped as well, turning his ear to the sound. They had only left camp a little while ago, so it came as a surprise to find someone coming toward them.

"Hmm? Did you hear that?" Suigetsu said, looking almost intrigued. It had been a little while since his fight at the summit, and he was itching for new blood.

"Sakaria!" The voice came again, growing louder as the person shouting approached the two.

"Sounds like someone's lookin' for you, fireball," Suigetsu mused. "What's that all about?"

"Why don't you go on ahead?" Sakaria asked, looking in the direction of the call, "I'll catch up in a bit."

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "You know I never miss a good show." With that, the ninja calling out to her caught up with them, stopping several branches away from the two. Suigetsu was quick to reach for his sword, but Sakaria put her hand out, motioning for him to wait. "Well, well, we weren't expecting company, were we, Sakaria?" He mused, looking at the leaf village Shinobi.

"What are you doing here?" Sakaria asked, her stance calm and solemn. Suigetsu grinned at her resemblance to her older brother in this moment.

"What kind of dumb question is **that**!?" Ino shrieked, seemingly annoyed.

"You have to come back home, Sakaria... I know you think this is the way, but we are at war an-"

"If your village is at war, it sounds like you should get back to it." Sakaria interrupted Shikamaru, who was taken aback by how formal she seemed with him. This was not the girl he'd spent so much time with back home.

"It's our village... and it's not just us," he corrected, "The entire shinobi world is fighting against one force."

"I'm well aware, but it isn't my place to interfere. I'm rogue." Sakaria said, repeating the words Shikamaru had used to describe her brother that weighed so heavily on her mind.

"How can you say that!?" Choji belted out, shocked. "After everything the village has done to keep you safe... You would turn your back on us in a time like this!?"

Sakaria smirked and laughed a little, "What has the leaf village done to keep me safe?" She turned back around, facing the trio again. "Your village had no idea I existed until only recently. And even then, you arrested me, interrogated me, then threw me into an apartment to be monitored and outcasted by the entire town. **Now** you care? Now that you need help?"

Shikamaru interjected, "It's not that we need your help, Sakaria, it's that we don't want you killed. You didn't get to Sasuke in time to stop Itachi, so what was the point in leaving now then? What do you have to say to him when he's part of the reason we're in this mess in the first place?"

"That's not any of your damn business," Sakaria shouted. This caused Suigetsu to look over at her, confused, but he continued listening.

"Look, I understand you want to see your brother," Shikamaru continued, "But you have people who care about you back home... We came all this way... we took time and manpower from the war to come and get you. We... I... just want to keep you safe."

At this point, Suigetsu raised an eyebrow, "Hey, who is this guy, Sakaria? Your boyfriend or somethin?" He sized Shikamaru up, scoffing a little with a wide smirk on his face.

"No," Sakaria replied. This caused Shikamaru to lower his head a little. "Shikamaru, I don't want to be 'kept safe.' It hasn't helped me at all to be sheltered and coddled. I'm going to become the kunoichi I am expected to be without anyone standing in my way... and more importantly, I'm going to stand by my brother while I do it."

"And what if Sasuke attacks the village, Sakaria? What then?" Ino interrupted, suddenly infuriated by her selfishness.

"I was never given the chance to talk to Sasuke before he killed our older brother. I could use that chance now to try and save the leaf, but I'm not sure you deserve it..." She lowered her head, thinking of Itachi, "If only you knew the way your village treated my family... you would understand why I have such a hard time giving a shit about what happens to any of you." The group was shocked by this, especially Shikamaru.

"But we don't understand," Choji shouted, "Why can't you just explain... maybe we cou-"

"What are you gonna do, Choji?" Sakaria laughed, "Bring my family back? Erase everything that happened and restore our clan? I tried to play the part of the loyal Konoha citizen, but when I watch you all spend time with your loved ones and live your lives without a single care given to those you exile and ridicule..." her voice trailed off thinking of how hard Shikamaru had tried to include her, but she stood firm when the comparison of his lively section of the clan and her abandoned homestead flashed in her mind. "You all think that the Leaf's side of the story is the only one that matters... That your village could do no wrong, but the Hidden Leaf has been attempting to control my family for generations. It has lead to our exile, the genocide of most of my clan, and the murder and ostracism of my brothers..." She crossed her arms, standing firmly. "I have no place helping you in a war that you brought upon yourselves. Go back and worry about your precious village that you know nothing about."

"This isn't only about us!" Ino shouted, "You've got it all wrong! This isn't a war on your brother! This is a war on-" Shikamaru held his hand out in front of her, interrupting.

"Sakaria Uchiha. You have been ordered by Kohonagakure to return to the village immediately." His tone was suddenly official and stern. "Any attempt to ignore these orders will be met with force." His tone was broken when a smirk crossed Sakaria's face, and she began to laugh again.

"Some things never change," she mused, "I guess the leaf is always going to try to control us. Stop veiling your fear in concern. I learned that you were all afraid of what my clan could do a long time ago." She said this last part while flashing the sharingan at the team standing before her.

When Shikamaru took note of this, he made a hand sign and stretched his shadow toward her. Sakaria, of course, jumped away into a higher branch of the tree only for it to follow momentarily. Then, quicker than their reaction time, Sakaria appeared behind them, kicking toward Ino's back, who took the blow, fell from the branch, and landed on her stomach below. Choji rushed toward her to make sure his partner was okay. "She's fast," Ino admitted, "Just like Sasuke."

They had no time to talk further before being split by Suigetsu who jumped down and swung his sword between the two, only for both of them to jump in opposite directions. "Sorry, Sakaria, I just can't help but intervene. You know how much I love breaking things in two!" He grinned, jumping after Choji.

While Suigetsu kept his teammates busy, Sakaria leaped after Shikamaru, who did his best to keep a decent distance between them despite jumping backwards. "I guess it won't matter if I tell you I was the one who put in the request to come find you?" He asked, hoping his sincerity might strike a chord with her.

"No!" Sakaria replied, throwing her shuriken at him. He dodged all three safely by flipping himself under a tree branch as they flew past. After regaining his footing on top of the branch, he looked up to find Sakaria's face only inches from his. "You're going to have to get it through your head, Shikamaru. I'm not one of you. I wasn't even allowed to be born in the village." Shikamaru suddenly found himself being held far above the canopy of trees on a post, unable to move. The sky turned a dark lavender hue as the leaves below him all turned to thousands of crows who fluttered away, their wings filling the air with a roar of movement. Once they had disappeared, Sakaria stood in front of him again in midair, her eyes glowing a horrible shade of red and her figure reduced to only a black and white colored version of herself. When she spoke, her voice sounded echoed and surreal. "I **will** leave this place."

"G-Genjutsu," Shikamaru managed to say, his eyes wide at the horrifying images before him. He attempted to release himself from it, but his chakra was too low from a combination of use on the battlefield during the war and now chasing after Sakaria with his shadows.

In reality, Shikamaru stood frozen on the branch only for a brief moment before Sakaria placed her hand on his chest and pushed him from the tree causing him to fall straight toward the forest floor. "Shikamaru!" Ino screamed, looking passed Suigetsu as she held a kunai against his sword in a feeble attempt to stop him from slicing into her again and her shoulder dripped blood from his previous attack. This caused Suigetsu to look back for just a moment, allowing Choji the opportunity to run toward him and cushion his best friend's blow before he hit the forest floor. After Shikamaru landed on Choji's back and Choji insured his safety, Ino kicked at Suigetsu who, although distracted, managed to endure the kick through his water transformation. She ran to her injured teammate and put her hand on his head, transmitting some of her chakra to him.

"Kai!" With that, the genjutsu was broken, and Shikamaru sat up, holding his head while his train of thought returned rapidly, causing it to ache. As his vision focused, he looked up to see Suigetsu walking toward them calmly.

"Who are you, anyway?" Ino shouted, holding Shikamaru's shoulders defensively while she stared at the white haired man.

Suigetsu sighed, "Man, answering this question gets old," he said. "I'm Suigetsu Hozuki." He remained standing a few feet away, holding his sword in his hand confidently. Choji, suddenly angered by his opponent's easy going tone, threw a kunai at him, only to watch Suigetsu's torso turn to water and the kunai hit the tree behind him. He rolled his eyes, "That won't work." His voice was labored as if he had taught this same lesson over and over that day.

"What do you want with Sakaria?" Shikamaru asked, wincing as he attempted to stand up. His entire body was suddenly sore from landing on his friend, and he fell back into his seated position. He watched as Suigetsu's face was over taken with a snide grin.

"She's good company, isn't she?" He mused, walking closer to the three. He stooped down, looking Shikamaru in the eyes. "I'll be honest, this is the first time I've seen her in action, so I wondered what traveling with her might be like... It's good to know she can hold her own and isn't just a sight for sore eyes." Shikamaru gritted his teeth. He wasn't one to let things like this get under his skin, but for some reason, hearing him talk about his friend like that caused him to grow angry. He kept his composure for the most part though, allowing Suigetsu to continue. "Hmm... What do** I** want with Sakaria... let's see." Suigetsu put a sarcastic finger to his chin and looked up in the air as if he was deep in thought, then looked back down, still grinning wickedly. "I think the question would be, what does **she** want with **me**? Trust me, it didn't take much to convince her to tag along... So, I can only assume she feels some sort of connection with me that she wasn't getting back in your village." The tensity was thick in the air at this point. Suigetsu stood, holding his sword out, ready to attack all three of them before saying, "In any case, it's always nice to have a woman around... hope you don't mind if I wear her out a little." Shikamaru started to lunge forward, losing his cool for a brief moment, and Suigetsu prepared himself to swing his blade, but Sakaria appeared in front of him.

"Suigetsu, let's get going." She said calmly. Suigetsu sighed and sheathed his sword.

"You're no fun, fireball. I didn't even get a good slice in." Sakaria started to walk away, but Shikamaru reached for her hand, just as she had done to him the night she was drunk and in his bed. She turned her gaze toward him.

"Sakaria..." Shikamaru said, pleadingly, "Please... Sasuke chose this same path and destroyed the hearts of the people who care about him... **Please **don't do this." Sakaria turned to him, keeping her hand in his, causing the other two members of team ten to tense up, preparing for another attack and Suigetsu to stop walking away in order to turn his ear toward the conversation once he realized Sakaria wasn't following him.

Sakaria sighed; her eyes returning to their original black color. She grasped his hand tightly in hers then turned and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "I'm sorry... but I need to do this... I need to do this because I care about Sasuke too...and if I don't, my own heart might never heal..." Shikamaru seemed shocked, but couldn't find a reply as her small hand slipped out of his. She placed her hands on her knees and leaned down to him, smiling brightly, then placed her hand on the side of his head. "Shikamaru..." The way she said his name was almost as if it was her way of saying goodbye. Her smile didn't fade as her hand moved down to his chest and she pulled the pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his vest. "These could kill you, ya know..." With that, she jumped into the trees, disappearing with her white haired companion.


	10. Chapter 10

"I came to apologize..." Shikamaru said to himself, standing on the balcony outside of Sakaria's apartment. "I..." He shook his head. It wasn't often that he had to swallow his pride and say sorry, but he wanted it to sound sincere. "I came to say I'm sorry...Not that either..." He hadn't even gotten the courage to knock on her door yet. "Sakaria... I'm sorry... ugh. Why doesn't any of this sound right?" His usually cool demeanor had slipped away like it always did when Sakaria was around, and he was reduced to reciting lines to make himself seem put together. "Sakaria, I wanted to say you were..."

"I was right..?" Sakaria finished his sentence and raised an eyebrow as she leaned against her open doorframe. Her face was solemn, but Shikamaru was glad to see it since he hadn't in weeks.

"No," He fell back into his old ways for a moment, not wanting to admit a woman was right. In fact, he didn't think she was right, but he was trying to take his dad's advice and pick his battles. "I mean... sort of." It wasn't as easy as his old man made it sound.

Sakaria stood, unmoving. "Why are you here, Shikamaru?"

"I just..." He breathed out heavily, giving in to the situation, "I wanted to say I'm sorry for the other day... I still don't think you should go after your brother... But I'm sorry for the way things happened." He looked over to her, hoping her hard exterior had melted away, but it hadn't.

"Is that it?"

"Well, I..." He looked to the wood planks of the balcony below, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I was hoping I could get you to come cloud watching with me... You know, like before..."

"No," Sakaria started to shut the door, but Shikamaru stuck his foot in it.

"C'mon, Sakaria... I don't know what else to do..." He looked down at her after opening the door the rest of the way and coming in uninvited. He shut the door behind him to shield the rest of the village from any onslaught that might occur after.

"You could start by getting the fuck out of my apartment," she said coldly, her black eyes looking stern as she crossed her arms in front of her.

Shikamaru sighed and put a hand up, "Okay. I'll go." He placed the same hand on her shoulder, half expecting her to pull away, but she didn't. "I really am sorry, Sakaria..." His face turned into one of shock as he saw tears start to form in the edges of the Uchiha girl's eyes. Instinctively, he took the hand that was resting on her shoulder and pulled her into him, holding her tightly. She only buried her face into his vest, crying with her arms still crossed in front of her. He pulled his other hand from his pocket and wrapped his other arm around her, holding her close to him. "I can't imagine what you're feeling right now," he admitted, "I'm sorry I said that we all know. We don't." Sakaria's sobs only got heavier and Shikamaru looked up, noticing her apartment was a wreck. There were several liquor bottles emptied on the counter of the adjoining kitchen, and some knocked over on her living room table. He sighed, upset with himself for letting her be alone for so long without at least checking on her. The two stood there for what seemed like hours before Sakaria finally pulled away, wiping her eyes which were raw from crying so often.

"I know... it's not your call," she managed to say. She could not, however, manage to look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry I took it out on you... it's just... When you said you all knew Sasuke better than I did I-" Shikamaru held his hand up again to silence her.

"I get it. Don't apologize." He tilted her chin up with his index finger, forcing her to look at him. "I shouldn't have let you deal with all of this alone... that's not what friends do." He wrapped her back into his arms and, this time, she hugged him back. He rested his cheek on the top of her head and mumbled, "you have to stop drinking so much, though. It could kill you, ya know?" Sakaria pulled away, looking up at him inquisitively.

"What about you, smoke cloud?" She teased, pointing to the pocket on his vest that held his cigarettes. Shikamaru laughed and grabbed her hand.

"Looks like we're going to have to find some new hobbies," he mused, "Now, how bout we go watch some real clouds?" Sakaria smiled and walked with him to their favorite spot.

"So, that **IS** your boyfriend!" Suigetsu said accusingly as he jumped through the trees with Sakaria once again. His tone seemed bitter though he tried his best to mask it.

"I told you, he's not," Sakaria replied, rolling her eyes. She couldn't quite understand why Suigetsu seemed so envious all of a sudden. She didn't mark him as the jealous type, but she'd never been too good at reading people. "He's just a friend from the village is all."

"Hm." Suigetsu replied, quieting himself to think for a moment. Normally, he would love to meddle in this kind of thing, but he could feel himself getting angry with the questions that were stirring inside his head. Still though, he was never one to keep quiet, so he decided to let it out. "Were you guys ever an item?"

"No." Sakaria's voice was flat, preparing for the bombardment of inquiries she was sure her purple eyed companion had prepared in his mind.

"Have you guys ever messed around?"

"No."

"Not even once?"

"No."

"Has he ever kissed you?"

"No."

"Have **you** ever kissed **him**?"

"Not unless you're counting that kiss on the cheek back there," Sakaria replied, huffing slightly.

"Well, it just so happens, I **do** count that. I don't go around kissing my friends on the cheek." Suigetsu said, his mouth turned into a slight frown while his tooth stuck over his lower lip still.

"Okay, well then, yeah. I've kissed him. Once. On the cheek." Her voice was cold and sarcastic as she answered.

Suigetsu was suddenly silent, trying to make sense of his emotions. _Why should I care if this girl I've only known for a few days was seeing someone before I met her? Why should I care if that guy came after her? Why wouldn't he come looking for her?_ He thought. He looked over at her as she focused forward, still leaping through the trees. Her long black hair fluttered behind her, and the sun hit her eyes, causing them to light up just slightly. _She's an Uchiha after all. It's no wonder some boy would come crawling back to get her. She's gorgeous._ His eyes narrowed at the thought though, suddenly not wanting her to be wanted by anyone but him. "You're not going back there, are you?"

Sakaria sighed, "I'm going with you to find Sasuke... I don't know what will happen after that." He didn't like her open ended answer, but continued forward. Sakaria attempted to change the conversation. "I hope we run into Jugo soon."

"You don't like being with just me?" Suigetsu grinned, trying to play it off as if he was only teasing her the entire time. His friend didn't bother to answer, growing more annoyed. There was a pregnant silence that filled the air, then Suigetsu continued, "I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

"I hope he didn't head back to where we'd camped out before thinking we'd still be there."

"If he did, he'll figure it out and come looking for us. Either way, I'm sure we'll cross paths again." He replied, easing her concerns. He knew there was a chance they wouldn't see their cohort again, but, knowing Jugo, he was almost certain he was fine.

After a long while, the two finally came to the edge of the woods and found themselves on a mountainside cliff, over looking the Hidden Sound Village. Suigetsu let out a long exasperated sigh then threw himself on his butt, leaning his forehead into his palm and taking a sip from his water bottle. "I thought we'd never get here."

Sakaria looked down at him, noticing him sweating. "We should get you in some shade to cool down," she said, almost worried, "You're starting to look dehydrated." Suigetsu peered up at her, after moving his hand slightly, with a tired grin plastered to his face. She sounded so much different from Karin as she addressed his current state with concern rather than bitching at him to keep moving.

"I'll live," Suigetsu said, shrugging. He tried to play it off as though he was fine, but he was actually exhausted. It had been a while since he'd done that much running without pausing for an actual break.

Sakaria shook her head, and offered her hand down to him. "C'mon, water boy."

Suigetsu accepted her hand and stood up, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think I like that nickname. Give me a different one!" He complained.

"I didn't get to pick 'girlie' or 'fireball'" Sakaria reminded, helping him into the shade. He sat on a small boulder underneath a tree nearby.

"Yeah, but those are good," he continued, " 'water boy' makes me sound unimportant or weak."

"Fits you perfectly then," She mused back, turning away from him with a slight grin.

"**HEY!** You take that back!" Suigetsu shouted. Sakaria laughed.

"Hmmm...I don't think I have another nickname for you."

"I could have you calling me a few other things... 'Master' being one of them," he mumbled, his mouth still on the straw of his water bottle.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." They were quiet again for a moment as Suigetsu laughed to himself. He was usually pretty playful, but something about her made him want to take his flirtatious nature a step further. He watched her closely as she sat in the grass nearby, picking white wildflowers and fiddling with them. After a little time passed, he raised an eyebrow at her again. "What are you doing over there?"

"Making a daisy chain," Sakaria replied, holding up the flowers she had tied together by their stems. "I used to do it all the time when I was little. Itachi taught me." She stood and walked back to Suigetsu after tying the ends, then placed the circle of flowers she had made on his head. Suigetsu's purple eyes traveled up as she did this, not quite understanding the point, while his straw made an all too familiar rattling sound to indicate his bottle was empty and he was sucking down air. Sakaria backed away from him, taking in her friend wearing her handmade crown with a smile. "I think it suites you!" She said, her eyes closing from the grin that overtook her face. At this moment, Sakaria seemed so innocent and childlike that Suigetsu regretted ever accusing her of lying to him about the man they had stumbled upon in the woods.

"Heh." He straightened the crown on his head a little, "You think so?" Sakaria nodded, wishing she could take a picture of him wearing it. She remembered back to all the times she had adorned her eldest brother with daisy chain jewelry; bracelets, crowns, and necklaces, but she had never gotten any pictures of him wearing them. Itachi, much like Suigetsu it seemed, would let her spend all day covering him in the small white flowers if it made her happy. "Where's your crown?" Suigetsu asked, disrupting her recollection.

"I didn't make one for me," she said, looking back to him, puzzled.

"Show me how." Suigetsu slid to the grass then roughly ripped a handful of daisies from it.

"You have to make sure you keep the stems on them," Sakaria corrected, sitting in front of him. Suigetsu looked down as she plucked a small flower from the earth, as closely to the ground as she could. He nodded and followed suit, picking several and piling them in between his legs as he sat Indian style. After gathering plenty, he watched carefully as Sakaria showed him how to tie the stem to the next flower, then did so hisself, his tongue sticking out from his lip in a fit of concentration. He found himself starting over several times after breaking the flowers off of the stems, unused to handling anything so gently.

Eventually, his hands reached forward, and he placed his creation on top of Sakaria's head, smiling back at her with the same closed eyed smile she had given him before. "There. A crown fit for a princess," he announced, feeling rather proud of his craftsmanship.

Sakaria giggled then put a hand under her chin, showing off her new style. "How do I look?"

Suigetsu opened his eyes and stared at her for a moment, his mouth in a small "o" as if he wasn't ready to answer the question. He took in her features; her pale face slightly reddened and freckled by the afternoon sun, her small nose, her black eyes and long eyelashes, even the stray section of black hair that had fallen in front of her face when he placed the crown on her head. He then smiled once more, "You're alright. I'd give you a six." Sakaria furrowed her eyebrows and shoved his shoulder causing the crown she had made him to fall from his head as he fell back on his elbows and laughed.

"You're so stupid!" She growled, feeling insecure from his joke. Her voice echoed over the sound village, joining Suigetsu's laugh.


	11. Chapter 11

Suigetsu rested for what seemed like hours to Sakaria, who never complained, but was growing bored of making daisy chains. He eventually stood up and stretched his back, then looked down at her, extending his hand. "Well, let's go. We can't sit here all day." Sakaria rolled her eyes and took his hand to stand up.

"Where are we going again?" She said, taking one of Shikamaru's cigarettes that she had stolen and popping it into her mouth after blowing a small flame onto it to light it. Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at her.

"I didn't know you smoked," he stated, seeming slightly intrigued by how much it changed her appearance. _Look at you, little miss badass..._ he thought, grinning a little at the sight.

"I don't do it often... but sometimes you need something to take the edge off right?" She said, exhaling and pulling the cigarette away from her lips. Suigetsu thought for a moment then shrugged.

"I just kill things when I'm on edge," he said honestly. Sakaria laughed a little but couldn't escape the memory of Shikamaru that flashed into her head as she inhaled the smoke from his cigarette. It was in that moment of remembrance that she noted Suigetsu was nothing like her friend back in the leaf village. He was crass and volatile. He often acted upon impulse without analyzing things... in fact, she wasn't even sure that the word "analyze" was in Suigetsu's vocabulary. The more she learned about her new friend, the more she realized he was going to take some getting used to.

That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy his company though. Suigetsu was definitely more adventurous than Shikamaru and he humored her childish habits a little more. Shikamaru would have never asked her to show him how to make daisy chains. She found herself laughing more often with Suigetsu around as well which made her ponder something else.

_Am I just a copy of whoever I'm around...?_ She asked herself, thinking back to the way she acted around both men, _There's no way I can fit in with both of these people. They're polar opposites... Maybe I don't know who I am..._ Her train of thought was interrupted by Suigetsu, knocking aggressively on her head like a door.

"Hellooo!" He called, "anybody home?"

"Ow! Ow! Geez!" She replied, coming back to earth and holding her head where his knuckles had landed multiple times, "What's your deal!?"

"I said we're headed to one of Orochimaru's hideouts," Suigetsu responded, looking at her closely. "Sheesh, you really don't listen." He stuck his nose in the air and crossed his arms to show disapproval. "What's going on in there that you can't focus, huh?" Sakaria rolled her eyes, smirked, and started walking as he continued, keeping pace with her and resting his hands on the back of his head. "I can't figure you out, girlie. It's like one second you're here and the next you're off in a different world. You should really try to pay better attention, especially when someone is talking to you. I mean, you could miss vital information if you keep spacing out like that. And anyway, what's so important that it takes all of your attention to think about it? I mean, it makes you seem really insensitive when you-"

"Shh!" Sakaria said, putting out her cigarette and suddenly putting her hand over Suigetsu's rambling mouth as they trekked further into the woods after coming down from the mountainside. He continued to talk, protesting her effort to silence him, but the sound was muffled by her hand, and Sakaria directed her ear in the direction of a noise she had heard in the forest. "Did you hear that?" She removed her hand from his mouth and reached to pull a kunai from the holster on her leg.

"Oh, NOW you can hear," Suigetsu complained, not paying attention.

"Hush!" Sakaria said, looking around. Near silence fell over the forest for a moment as the wind rattled the leaves in the trees. "Whatever it is sounds big..."

Suigetsu perked up for a moment, finally noticing what she was hearing, then grinned determinedly. "I know that sound... That's-" Before he could finish his sentence, Jugo came barreling at the two of them, half transformed from his curse mark and roaring like a wild beast. Sakaria managed to jump into a tree above her, leaving Suigetsu to fend off his rampage with his sword.

"Jugo!" Sakaria shouted, not understanding why he would attack them, "What are you doing!? It's us!"

"I don't care who you are, I'll tear you limb from limb!" He shouted, his voice deep and growling as a crazed laugh over took him. He swung at Suigetsu, who avoided the hit with a splash, then got behind him, attempting to pin him to a nearby tree with his arm which had mutated and quadrupled in size to hold his opponent.

"He's on a rampage," Suigetsu said as Jugo ripped away from his grip and turned back to him, suddenly rushing toward him. Sakaria was frozen, unsure of what to think. She had never seen Jugo act this irrational and had thought of him as a fairly meek, easy going guy.

"Oy! Fireball!" Suigetsu called, jumping away from his opponent, "Now's not the time to visit Lala land, okay?" His voice was stern albeit sarcastic. "You need to get away from here." Jugo rushed at him, pinning Suigetsu against a tree and morphing the demonic side of his body into an axe-like weapon. Sakaria's eyes widened and she disappeared from the branch in shock.

"C'mon you crazy son of a bitch. Snap out of it!" Suigetsu shouted, holding his sword against Jugo's unchanged hand.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill both of you!" Jugo wailed, his eyes wild as a psychopathic grin covered his face.

Suddenly, his grin disappeared and was replaced with angry confusion. Suigetsu heard Sakaria shout from behind his massive attacker, "Suigetsu! Get out of the way!" Then moved as quickly as possible, watching from a distant tree as she quickly made a few hand signs. The air around them began to swirl aggressively as if the start of a storm was coming, and the purple eyed man stared down in awe as a whirlwind formed around Jugo, devouring him. "Wind prison!" Sakaria shouted, jumping back herself to escape the repercussions of the massive vortex that she had created. Her hair flew wildly behind her as she listened to Jugo's muffled yell from inside of it.

"You dumb bitch!" He laughed manically, "I've been locked up for ages! You think THIS is going to stop me!?" He attempted to bulldoze his way out of the eye of the cyclone, only to be smothered by the lack of oxygen as it receded further and began to suffocate him. As he started to choke, he could be heard still fighting inside although neither Sakaria nor Suigetsu could see him through the swirling wind. When Sakaria could no longer sense his violent chakra mixed within her storm with her sharingan, she released both jutsus, causing the trees around her to suddenly settle, and the leaves that had been ripped off and blown around, to flutter to the ground. As soon as everything settled, Suigetsu jumped from his place in the tree above to join Sakaria as she kneeled down by Jugo who was morphed back to normal and holding his head groaning.

"What... the hell... was that?" Sakaria gasped, more to Suigetsu than their disoriented teammate.

"A better question is, where did **that **come from?" Suigetsu said, still impressed by Sakaria's talent. "That was some quick thinking, girlie."

Sakaria huffed, obviously exhausted. "Thanks, but... don't expect it too often." She looked up at Suigetsu, forcing a smile. "That jutsu... takes a lot... out of me." She collapsed, and Suigetsu caught her, pulling her close to him, still kneeling on the forest floor.

"Is she alright?" Jugo asked, finally back to his usual self, but still holding his head. The oxygen deprivation had caused him a serious headache, but he was genuinely concerned about his acquaintance.

"She'll be fine," Suigetsu said, standing and tossing her over his shoulder. "She just wasted a lot of chakra on your crazy ass." Jugo's face was solemn as he absorbed the insult. He was used to Suigetsu's insensitive remarks and had accepted a long time ago that they wouldn't ever stop. He followed as his teammate started walking away and watched as Suigetsu carried the young girl who had stopped his attack just moments ago on his shoulder like a rag doll.

"Suigetsu," he said, looking down, "be careful not to step on her hair." His eyes were focused on the girl's long hair that nearly dragged the ground behind them.

The mist shinobi stopped and looked over his shoulder, then adjusted her weight as if she was a sack of flour and kept moving, her hair still draped over him. "She'll be fine," he repeated, unconcerned. _Honestly, I'm just glad she isn't dead. Wouldn't that be fun to explain to Sasuke? _He thought, _Sasuke! Good news is, we found your long lost baby sister. Bad news is she's dead and its all our fault! _Suigetsu shuddered at the thought of what would follow the hypothetical conversation, then sighed. "At least we're not too far from where we need to be," he griped, "I'm getting tired myself." Luckily, as if the sky was listening to his complaint, it started to rain, the hydration from it giving him a little relief

"Do you want me to-"

"No." He surprised even himself with how quick he was to deny Jugo taking over the privilege of carrying the young Uchiha girl, even if her dead weight was causing his shoulder to become sore. "We'll be there soon, anyway," he reminded his cohort, trying to cover his tracks. Jugo, of course, saw right through Suigetsu's ruse and shook his head at how attached his partner had apparently gotten to their new teammate while he was away. "So, what was going on with those Samurai?" He asked, attempting to change the subject, "And where the hell is my executioner's blade!?"

"I looked for it..." Jugo said, halfheartedly. "I didn't see it anywhere." Suigetsu slammed his palm into his forehead, almost unable to believe he had lost the first ever sword he had found to add to his collection already. "Maybe one of the samurai took it to use during the war... They weren't there when I went back to check."

"No," Suigetsu sighed, "that sword requires elite skill... and anyway, I wouldn't think a samurai would want to wield a weapon so big to begin with." He trudged forward, deep in thought, while he attempted to figure out where it could possibly be.

"Easy come, easy go," Jugo said, shrugging.

With that, Suigetsu snapped, "Easy for **you** to say! You didn't have to run Sasuke's stupid race to get the damn thing. Do you even know how hard it is **not** to kill people!?" He silenced himself as Jugo cut his eyes toward him and raised an eyebrow at his dumb question. Suigetsu turned back toward the direction they were walking and let out an aggravated sigh. "At this rate, I'll be ancient by the time I collect all seven swords."

Jugo looked up at the entrance to Orochimaru's laboratory, suddenly uninterested in the conversation they'd been having. "Suigetsu..." The white haired man looked up after lowering his head in frustration and realized they had arrived at their destination after seeing the large, stone snake head before him.

"Finally," he sighed, walking over and leaning Sakaria against the wall by the entrance. He was sure to set her under the roof of the snake's mouth so she would stay as dry as possible.

"You're going to leave her out here?" Jugo asked, looking down at the small, black haired Uchiha girl. He couldn't help but think how easy it would be to run off with her, especially while she was unconscious.

Suigetsu, still kneeled down to be sure Sakaria's head was set gently against the rock wall, looked up and replied, "She'll be okay out here. This shouldn't take long... Or at least I hope not." He almost second guessed her safety, but remembered how she handled Jugo's rage earlier and decided that she would be okay. "And, even if she gets into some trouble, I'm sure we'll hear her." Jugo decided not to press the matter any further since Suigetsu seemed so sure of himself. "Besides," he said, walking inside while Jugo lit up the hallway, "Why would **you** care if she's okay? You tried to kill us just a while ago." Jugo scoffed slightly as they continued walking down the hallway.

"The size of this hideout is ridiculous," Suigetsu continued, trying to change the subject again. He looked back to Jugo after hearing him grunt and realized he was holding his head in pain. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. My head just started hurting," Jugo said, still wincing.

_Is he going to go on a rampage again,_ Suigetsu thought, looking at his partner with disdain. _Sasuke, Karin, Jugo... Hebi, Taka, or whatever... I'm the only normal one among us... well, not including the little Uchiha outside... but, if she's anything like her brother, then she's crazy too._ He turned back, smirking to himself at the last thought.

"Suigetsu..." Jugo said, stopping to hold his head in hopes that his headache would soon subside.

"What is it?" Suigetsu stopped and turned his head again.

"Something's always bothered me about you..."

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm always concerned about you... you keep me on pins and needles," he replied, unfazed.

"I'm here because I made a promise to Kimimaro. Why are you here? Are you in team Taka just to cause trouble with Sasuke and Karin?"

"Why?" Suigetsu asked, repeating his question to be sure he understood what he was asking.

"Yeah, Why?" Jugo nodded.

"Why huh?" Suigetsu needed time to think about this question himself. Sasuke had released him from the tank Orochimaru had kept him in for all that time... but why did he stay to help? Especially with that damn Karin around, always swinging at him and getting under his skin. The question rattled in his head momentarily before he answered with a laugh and an evil smirk crossing his face, "I would love to break those two losers up for good! I can't help it! I just want to break everything in two!" His voice sounded crazed, but Jugo stood listening, unbothered by it.

"You're reprehensible, you know that?" He replied flatly.

Suigetsu suddenly collected himself, "On that scale, Sasuke is the worst of all."

"What?"

"Well, he beat Itachi so, I thought he had reached his goal already," Suigetsu's mind flashed back to attacking Killer Bee, "I mean, give me a break. Teaming up with the Akatsuki to capture the jinchuriki of the eight tails? He got us mixed up in one outrageous mission." He looked back on the moment he had to fight the eight tales alone and snarled a little, "All of us nearly died that day... Somehow we managed to finish the job, but the next thing we knew, we were crashing the Five Kage Summit...We ended up in a battle Royale against Raikage and the rest of them." He crossed his arms at the thought of his executioner's blade being broken in two by the Raikage. "Then, when the fist fight was over, he razed the ceiling and didn't give a damn about us. Thanks to him, we ended up as prisoners in the Land of Iron." He put his hand to the side of his head, his brow twitching in frustration as he thought of the loss of his beloved blade, then crossed his arms again and closed his eyes, still annoyed. "I hate all of you! I lead you idiots to water, and you just splash it in my face instead of drinking it. That's why-" He was interrupted by a loud scream coming from Jugo. When he opened his eyes, Jugo had transformed again, half of his body covered by his curse mark. "Yikes! He's on a rampage! Is he out to kill!?" Before he could think straight, Jugo rushed toward him, attempting to take off Suigetsu's head with his mutated arm, but of course, only splashed through him and hit the wall behind.

In a moment of quick thinking, Suigetsu remembered Sakaria's attempt to suffocate him, and used his water transformation to form a sphere of water around Jugo's head in an attempt to drown him. "I hate **you** most of all!" While Jugo struggled against the water, he fell against the wall he had weakened previously and it came crashing down around him, revealing a secret room. "Huh?" Suigetsu released the jutsu, leaving Jugo on under the ruble of the wall to recuperate as he gazed inside. "This is..." He began walking in, still in shock, "I've been here lots of times. I never knew this existed...Is this one of Orochimaru's secret rooms?" He hopped through the hole Jugo had created with his arm and landed on his bare feet, looking around.

After fighting through some cobwebs and dust, a chalkboard hanging over a desk caught his eye, then he looked down at the scroll that was sitting in front of it along with several pages of notes. "Huh?" He started glancing through the words, piecing together information. The more clarity he gained from the writing, the more shocked he became. This is... Orochimaru planned all of this? If so, this intel could change the outcome of this entire war! He thought, his eyes wide as he scanned over the papers before him.

In that moment, his reading was interrupted by Jugo, who sat up grunting slightly in pain, "What are you doing?" He managed to ask as he looked into the hidden room.

Suigetsu grinned and rolled the scroll back before stuffing it in his cloak, "This might be another very nice present for Sasuke. We found another incredible thing by chance!" First, the Uchiha sister, and now this. Boy, we've sure gotten lucky without Karin around! Jugo coughed some of the water he had taken in earlier, and Suigetsu cut his eyes at him, still smiling, "Jugo, that punch is water under the bridge..." He started to walk out but noticed Jugo still coughing as he attempted to stand, "Snap out of it, Jugo," he flared, jumping from the hole in the wall, "We've got to find Sasuke quick!"

With that, the two walked out of the hideout to find Sakaria still resting quietly against the stone mouth of the entrance. "Oy," Jugo said, kicking her slightly.

"No, don't do that," Suigetsu griped, protectively. He was pleasantly surprised she was still out there, and that nothing had happened to her while he was spelunking. "Just let her sleep." He kneeled down and threw her over his shoulder again. "If I know anything about women, it's that they're a pain when they're awake... but an even bigger pain if you don't let them rest." He adjusted the girl on his shoulder, and started walking out into the rain. They both looked as the birds in the sky flew in haphazard directions.

"The birds are uneasy," Jugo said, trying to make sense of what they were all saying. He looked in the direction of the calamity and mumbled, "This way." They started in the direction Jugo indicated, walking away from the hideout and ready to finally find Sasuke.


	12. Chapter 12

After reaching the place the birds had come from, they still hadn't found Sasuke, but, after speaking to some of the forest animals nearby, Jugo was able to gather that he had been in the area. Suigetsu set Sakaria down and grabbed one of his water bottles from his waist, taking in gulps before throwing himself on the ground next to her. "You can't be serious..." Jugo complained, looking back at Suigetsu as he rested back on his elbows.

"I've been carrying her for miles!" Suigetsu said, his voice exasperated after he lost the motivation from finding the scroll earlier. "Besides, it feels nice to sit back in the rain for a minute." He lifted his head as the raindrops poured down on him.

"I'm going to go talk to the others who reside here, maybe they can tell us what direction Sasuke went," Jugo sighed, disappearing into the trees.

Alone again, Suigetsu looked down at Sakaria as she lied on her back, some of her hair plastered on her face from the rain. He watched as raindrops hit the skin of her thighs and rolled teasingly down the sides of them. _You know, you really are a pain in my ass_, he griped to himself, _any other girl in the world wouldn't get this kind of treatment from me. They could forget it! He snarled slightly at the thought, but because you're Sasuke's precious little sister, I guess I have to accommodate you. Geez, it's like you really are some kind of princess._ He knew the last part wasn't true. Most of the things he did for Sakaria had nothing to do with gaining Sasuke's favor. In fact, he probably would have done them if she wasn't related to Sasuke at all, but he didn't want to admit that to himself. He sighed, battling with his devotion to her in his head, then wondered, _When the hell are you gonna wake up, fireball?_ He was beginning to worry. After all, it wasn't often he'd seen a fire user pull off a wind style jutsu. _Just how much chakra did that take out of you? _Just as he started to ponder what he'd do with her body if she didn't come to, she opened her eyes slightly. "Hey there," he said, sounding much more friendly than intended.

"What happened? Where's Jugo?" Sakaria asked, sitting up on her elbow and holding her head with her free hand.

"Ah, he's fine," Suigetsu said, waving a hand in dismissal, "He's off talking to some birds about where Sasuke is..." Sakaria looked at him, completely confused, but decided to ignore it. "You've been out for a while... You feelin' okay?" He tried to come off as uninterested as possible, but it wasn't working.

"I think I'm dehydrated," Sakaria said, trying to get her bearings. Suigetsu held out his water bottle, and she took it reluctantly. "Are you sure you have enough?"

"We can get more," Suigetsu shrugged. He wasn't feeling the best himself, but he definitely didn't want her passing out again. He watched as the girl wrapped her mouth around the straw and drank quickly. "Better?" He asked as she handed the almost empty cup back. She nodded to him in thanks.

"How did I get here?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Suigetsu said, rolling his eyes, "I carried you." Sakaria looked at Suigetsu who was obviously exhausted from all of this.

Genuine confusion gleamed in her eyes, "Why?"

"Eh? What do you mean, 'why'?" Suigetsu asked, also confused. Why wouldn't he carry her?

"I don't get it," she said, studying him closely, "That just seems like a lot of strife to go through for someone..." Suigetsu looked at her, and then looked down at the ground.

"Look, I'm just trying to get you back to your brother," he said, "I don't want him pissed at me because we found you, but you didn't manage to make it back to-" he stopped, mid-sentence, when he noticed Sakaria shaking her head and smirking.

"You keep saying that's the reason, but..." she gazed up at him, a willful look in her eye. "I know that's not it."

"What's the reason then, fireball?" Suigetsu asked, half attempting to hide behind his lies, and half curious to see if she'd figured him out.

"You care about me," Sakaria said, resisting the urge to rest her head on his shoulder. Suigetsu turned and looked down at her, seemingly embarrassed for a split second then he shook his head.

"I just got through telling Jugo, I hate all of you. Him, Sasuke, you, Karin... the whole lot of you." A small smirk crossed his face without him realizing.

"Oh, well if you hate me so much, I guess I can ju-" She started to get up to walk away, but in an instant, Suigetsu appeared in front of her and tackled her to the ground playfully. With a hand rested on either side of her shoulders to support him, he looked down at her, his white hair wet from the rain and hanging down around his face, curtaining his toothy grin.

"I told you, I can't let anything happen to you until I get you to Sasuke..."

Sakaria giggled from underneath him as he pinned her. "What if something does happen?"

"...I'd never forgive myself," Suigetsu said after pausing, suddenly serious. He could feel himself gravitating toward her as he stayed on top of her, shielding her body from the rain. Sakaria's face turned red, and her eyes ventured away from his.

"I..." She thought hard about her response, deciding if she should actually say the things coming to her mind, "I... Think I want something to happen to me before we find Sasuke..." She said awkwardly, leaning up on her elbows.

"Oh yeah?" Suigetsu asked, leaning closer. "What would that be?"

Sakaria could feel the heat of his breath on her face while the rest of her body shivered in the rain. For a moment, the entire world disappeared, and the only thing that mattered was then. That place and time and the man hovering above her. She couldn't resist the nagging feeling she'd had for the past few days, and was beginning to think she shouldn't have anyway. Suigetsu had been the only person, aside from Itachi, to really take her under his wing and show her the world outside of cleaning houses in the leaf village, the only person to not only believe she was talented, but to test her strengths and help face her fears, and the only person, it seemed, to even relatively understand her. He never stood in the way if she wanted to do something or told her she was wrong. In fact, without Suigetsu, Sakaria would still be stuck in the village, just as miserable and lonely as she had been before. He didn't treat her like an outcast, but like an ally and a valuable member to his team. As all of this rushed through her head, Suigetsu's lips brushed against hers gently.

Just before their lips finally met completely, Jugo came from the trees, "Everyone I've talked to says-" He stopped and raised an eyebrow at the two as Sakaria threw herself flat on the ground again, flustered, and Suigetsu sat beside her, his forehead pressed into his palm, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nothing at all," Sakaria sighed. Jugo was reluctant, unsure of what had just happened to cause them such irritation, but chalked it up to them annoying each other just as they always had, and continued to let them know that the animals had told him they had all seen Sasuke heading north.


	13. Chapter 13

The makeshift team had traveled for miles with no sight of Sasuke anywhere although they were sure they were heading in the right direction. Every few miles, Jugo would stop and ask any wildlife he could find about a black haired boy that looked a lot like the girl traveling with them, and all of them confirmed seeing him running that way. A few of the animals made mention of another young man traveling with him, his hair just as dark, but longer, and a deadened look in his eye. Jugo, knowing it must have been Itachi somehow, decided not to relay this information to Sakaria in fear it would cause her to travel recklessly ahead. After running for so long, Suigetsu finally stopped when they caught sight of a small village nestled in the woods.

"Let's take it easy for the night," Suigetsu whined tiredly, dragging his feet toward the village as the other two stood behind him.

"But what if the trail goes cold?" Sakaria asked, looking back in the direction they had been traveling. "We could catch up to Sasuke tonight if we-"

"Yeah, but whose to say Sasuke isn't gonna keep running all night?" Suigetsu asked, still walking away. "He's crazy enough to do it."

"Suigetsu..." Jugo said, looking over to him, "Don't you think it would be smarter if we continued moving in the direction we've been going? We can make camp somewhere ahead, but to go off course just to get to a village could waste a lot of time."

Suigetsu turned back, his face flat and annoyed, "Look, I'm sleeping in a real bed tonight. Even if I have to kill someone to do it." Sakaria tensed slightly at her companion's claim, but a bed did sound nice. Maybe there would be an inn they could stay in so Suigetsu wouldn't have to act out rashly. Jugo said nothing and started to walk in Suigetsu's direction, sighing. With Suigetsu being as stubborn as he was, he knew that they would have to go along or split up, and Jugo certainly didn't want to be responsible for Sakaria's well being since he could hardly control his rampages.

"Oy, fireball, you comin?" Suigetsu asked, still walking away. Sakaria looked one last time in the direction she knew her brother to be, then caught up to her group, not escaping the feeling of longing she had to find him.

Once inside the small village, it seemed everyone Suigetsu or Jugo looked at was traumatized and instantly headed the other direction. Sakaria couldn't blame them. With Suigetsu's sharp teeth and weird appearance, and Jugo's size, we must look like a band of circus freaks. She thought, watching as a group of girls ran to the other side of the street to get further away. I'm the only normal one among us...

"Well, I'd ask someone about a place to sleep, but looks like nobody wants to chat," Suigetsu said confidently. Something about bringing that much fear to people made him feel good.

Sakaria stopped and looked over at a little girl who was hiding behind a fish stand, staring up at them. "Hold on," She said, walking over and kneeling next to the girl who stayed behind the stand, only peeking her blue eyes out at Sakaria. "Hi there!" Sakaria said brightly, "We don't really know this place too well, and I was wondering if maybe you could help us find some place to stay for the night," she said, closing her eyes with a big smile.

"u-uhm... A place to sleep?" The little girl moused, starting to come out of her hiding spot until she saw Suigetsu smile at her and hid again. "I d-don't know if you've asked, b-but Ayako has a lodge a-a little ways down the r-r-oad." Sakaria smiled and stood, digging in her pocket for a moment. She pulled out a few ryo to hand the little girl who took them from her reluctantly.

"Thank you! Oh, and don't be scared of those two," Sakaria said, pointing her thumb behind her at her companions, "They look tough, but they're really just big sissies!" The little girl laughed and ran away to find her group of friends, suddenly at ease.

"Hey, nice goin," Suigetsu said, as Sakaria joined him again, "But ya didn't have to give her money, ya know?"

"Maybe she'll be able to get something she really wants now," Sakaria shrugged, "I mean, she did help us after all."

"Yeeah, but I could have gotten that information from anybody for free," Suigetsu said, pointing at his sword on his back. Sakaria rolled her eyes, smiling gently at his tough exterior.

The three walked into the lodge and were greeted by a light blue haired girl who smiled brightly at them. "Hi there! Welcome!" She was taller than Sakaria and sported a light green kimono, showing off her cleavage seductively. Sakaria looked her up and down, scowling a little and wondering if they were in a lodge or a brothel. The girl's blue eyes met hers for a moment, then, after popping a confident smirk, scanned the rest of the group and landed on Suigetsu.

"Do you have any rooms available?" Jugo asked, his face as emotionless as ever.

"Well, I'm not sure. Were you all wanting to get a separate room?" The girl asked, her eyes moving up and down Suigetsu and a small blush coming to her face. Something inside Sakaria started to burn as she watched the girl.

Without noticing her stares, Suigetsu walked up and leaned nonchalantly against the counter, "Hmm... I guess that depends on how much it would cost us to stay separately." He said, rubbing his chin.

"Well..." The girl blushed, looking up from the reservation book she was holding, "I could save you some money and only charge you for two rooms... and you could come and stay with me." She batted her eyelashes at him, and Suigetsu raised an eyebrow.

"Or," Sakaria said, suddenly stepping up to the counter and practically pushing Suigetsu out of the girl's line of sight, "You could charge us for two rooms anyway, since that's all we'll need." She turned to Suigetsu, "I'll stay with you and we can give Jugo some space... just in case." She tried to make it seem as though she was being thoughtful and keeping them safe from Jugo's urges, but in reality, she couldn't stand watching the innkeeper look at Suigetsu that way anymore.

Seeing right through her, Suigetsu smiled a sly, smug grin, and looked back over at the blue haired girl, doing his best to stoke the fire that was burning in front of him, "Hold on now, just why would you want me to come stay with you?" He teased.

"Well... I mean... I dunno. I could think of all kinds of fun things we could do..." The girl said with a giggle, her face turning an even deeper shade of red. Suigetsu watched as Sakaria snarled at her words.

"Hmmm... Fun huh?" Suigetsu purred, his eyes not leaving the Uchiha girl beside him. "Wanna show me what you mean?"

"Sure," the girl said, walking around the counter and extending her hand to place it on Suigetsu's chest.

It was then that Sakaria did push Suigetsu out of the way and snapped viciously. "Don't put your hands on him." The girl was shocked by this, then furrowed her eyebrows at Sakaria who was slightly shorter than her, but stood firm and confident. "Look, we just need two rooms. One for him," She pointed at Jugo, "And one for he and I." The girl, who was getting increasingly annoyed by Sakaria's alpha presence, flipped through her book.

"All I have are two rooms on separate floors," she said, almost gritting her teeth.

"Whatever," Sakaria snapped, snatching the keys from her hand as soon as she pulled them out.

"Don't you want to know what the cost is?" She asked sarcastically as Sakaria dragged Suigetsu down the hallway by his shirt.

"No," Sakaria called back. She could feel Suigetsu snickering in amusement as she pulled him down the hall.

"Well if you need anything..."

"We won't!" They started up the stairs.

"I wasn't talking to you!" The girl barked as the two headed upstairs and the red haired man accompanying him walked into his respective room on the first floor.

Sakaria opened the door quickly and dragged Suigetsu inside. After slamming it shut, she sat on the bed, pulling off her shoes. "What was all that about, girlie?" Suigetsu grinned, sitting beside her.

"I just didn't think she should have her hands all over you, that's all," she said, annoyed, "she's working. You would think she'd at least be professional."

"Mmm... I didn't see a problem with it," Suigetsu said, looking over at her with a sarcastic smile.

"Of course you didn't. You were practically eye fucking her from the second we walked in."

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at this, dropping his amusement for a moment, "What are you talking about? I didn't even notice that girl until you started acting weird." He was all for fun and games, but didn't like being accused falsely.

"I wasn't acting weird," Sakaria reiterated, "I just didn't think she should put her hands all over you... You can't trust people. That's all."

"Are you sure you weren't just a little jealous?" Suigetsu mused.

"Jealous? Of what!?" Sakaria hadn't ever had this feeling before, but she knew her white haired friend must be right. Why else would that have bothered her so deeply?

"I think," Suigetsu said, scooting closer to her, "Someone doesn't like to share." Sakaria snarled slightly at this and turned away from him, disgusted by her own feelings. "Now you know how I felt when that guy with the ponytail stopped us in the woods." He said, grabbing her face and pulling it toward him. With her chin between his thumb and index finger, he grinned and pushed his forehead into hers. "I don't like sharing either." With that, their lips finally met, and Sakaria felt heat rush from every area of her body into her face while she settled into the kiss. Though she was embarrassed, especially for letting her jealousy get the best of her moments ago, she couldn't help feeling relieved that this moment was finally happening. She took in everything as Suigetsu's hand traced from her chin down her jawline and then toward the back of her neck, pulling her closer and sending chills down her entire body. He pulled away after a moment, pressing his forehead against hers again. "I'm glad you feel that way," he said, chuckling slightly, "Or else I might not have been able to do that." He looked into Sakaria's deep black eyes, which were wide with anticipation of what would happen next, and pulled away, grinning at her disappointment. "Let's head to bed. I'm exhausted."

"Oh... Okay," Sakaria was dumbstruck. Had that actually happened? She always thought she would have shared her first kiss with Shikamaru or someone relatively normal, but Suigetsu was anything but. Everything about him was different from his white hair and lilac eyes, all the way down to his sharp teeth that matched his quick witted personality. Yet, this man who was so obsessed with killing and causing trouble, had kissed her, and it felt so right. So perfect. She watched as Suigetsu pulled the blankets down on the bed she was still sitting on and started taking off his holster of water bottles and his sword, setting them in the floor beside him.

He looked down, noticing the lack of space in the room. "Hm. No place to sleep on the floor. I guess you'll have to share something." Suigetsu grinned, pulling off his shirt. "And you better not take up the entire bed." Sakaria quickly turned her head to focus on the floor as Suigetsu unbuttoned his pants and slid them off, standing in a pair of grey undershorts. "Where'd that fiery attitude go?" He teased.

"I..." She looked back up at Suigetsu, trying to look confident although her face was on fire. "I don't get you," she growled, standing up herself and pulling down the blankets. She started to crawl into bed, but Suigetsu's puzzled gaze stopped her.

"I don't get you, either," he said, pointing, "Are you gonna sleep in your clothes?"

"What else would I sleep in?" Sakaria asked, looking down at her outfit, confused. "Especially when you're practically naked!" Suigetsu laughed and walked over to her, causing Sakaria to flip over and sit on her side of the bed to face him, not trusting what he'd do if he managed to back her into a corner. "W-What are you doing?" She asked, watching as Suigetsu kneeled and ran his hands across her right thigh.

"Helping you out," he cooed, untying the tape she had on her leg to hold her weapons holster in place, "I know this can't be comfortable." Sakaria watched as Suigetsu unraveled the white tape, then pulled her holster from her leg. When his hands reached further to the button on her shorts, Sakaria's hand instinctively rose up to grab his, stopping him again. He raised an eyebrow. "You keep acting like this is a big deal... Don't you remember? I've already seen everything... and even if that hadn't happened, I taught you to swim and you were half naked. If I didn't do anything to you then, what makes you think I would now?" Sakaria's hand moved away, but Suigetsu looked up at her nervous expression and sighed. He then stood and leaned over her, pushing her to lie back on the bed. He pressed his lips gently against her forehead, then nuzzled his face next to her head to whisper in her ear as he felt his bare chest press against her tank top. "I'm not going to do anything you don't wanna do. I want you to be comfortable." He couldn't understand where this tender personality had come from. He'd never really been this way with anyone until now, but something about her drew him to want to make her feel safe. Sakaria nodded, then smiled herself.

"... You really are a big sissy aren't you?" She teased, running her hands from Suigetsu's sides to his back, then holding him for a moment until he pulled away, almost snarling. He slunk back down and pulled at the button of her shorts then pulled them off of her legs. After taking a deep breath to fight the urges building inside of him, he moved back up to her and pulled her up by her arms. In a few quick movements, he pulled her tank top over her head, taking in the gaze of her body once again before him in her black panties, lit up only by the moonlight coming through the window. He placed his hand on the side of her head, intertwining his fingers in her hair, and pulled her to him, kissing her again, then pulled away and jumped on his side of the bed.

"Goodnight," he said, leaving her half undressed and still seated in the same spot. Sakaria, completely dumbfounded, finally convinced her body to lie down and pulled the blankets over her. The feeling of Suigetsu's hands on her was complete bliss and she wanted him to turn over and hold her, but for some unknown reason, she couldn't convince herself to ask for this. She only hoped that at some point, Suigetsu wouldn't be able to resist and would come to her on his own. She thought about this for hours until finally drifting off to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Sakaria was abruptly awakened from a dream, gasping and sitting up in bed as if someone had been suffocating her before. She held her head, thinking hard about what she had just seen. There's no way... It must have just been a dream. Itachi is... She looked over at Suigetsu who was sleeping soundly beside her, sprawled across the bed on his stomach. His arm had apparently been draped over her until she flung herself upward. She then directed her gaze out the window that was still shedding a large amount of moonlight into the room. Still though, it all felt so real... She drew her knees up to her chest, still wrapped in the blankets, and hugged them close to her, thinking about her dream.

Not knowing where she was, Sakaria woke up in a patch of tall grass, the amber sunlight of afternoon covering the area in a sepia tone. She looked up, seeing a hill in front of her with a large tree on the top. After standing, she walked up the hill reluctantly and saw her eldest brother sitting against the tree. "I-Itachi?" She said, stumbling over his name as though it was a foreign word. He turned to her and smiled wide.

"There you are," his voice was inviting, just like it had been when she was a little girl, "I've been waiting for you, little sister." Sakaria raced up the hill, stumbling a bit, and landed in his arms, weeping.

"Itachi!" She couldn't stop saying his name, afraid he'd disappear and she'd never be able to address him again, "Itachi, why?" She felt him hold her close to him and she burrowed her face into his chest. "Why did you leave? Why did you let Sasuke-" She was interrupted by him moving his hand from the back of her head to her shoulders, making her look up at him.

"You know how sick I was, Sakaria..." Sakaria thought back to all the times Itachi would come back from battles, and she would have to help him with breathing treatments and the occasions he would keep her up at night, coughing in his sleep. "I had to allow Sasuke to find me. I had to test his strength to make sure he'd be safe... and I wanted him to help me atone for what I had done as well."

"But you left me," Sakaria said, tears flowing freely down her face, leaving staining trails. She felt, once again, like a petulant child competing for her big brother's attention.

"I always knew you were strong," Itachi smiled at her, his eyes closing as he placed his hand on the top of her head. "You are strong because you are empathetic and you have the biggest heart I've ever seen. That alone would keep you safe, or at least that's what I've always hoped." Sakaria's eyes widened, almost angry.

"But I'm not strong, Itachi!" She shook her head violently, causing Itachi to draw back his hand. "You sheltered me and babied me so much... and now that I'm on my own, I'm scared, and I barely know anything. I'm not even sure what I'm doing or who I am! What good is a 'big heart' if I can't protect it." She winced, trying to stifle her sobs to no avail. "It isn't fair, Itachi. You and Sasuke are so strong. Everyone in every village knows your name... but no one even knew I existed, and now that they do, they think I'm some monster."

Itachi's eyes widened, then narrowed as he smiled at her again, pulling her down into his chest. "Sweet sister," he soothed, looking down at her. "I know it seems that way now, but that will all change one day because you have the power to change it. I admit, I shouldn't have sheltered you like I did. I kept Sasuke in the dark for so long and I kept the two of you apart in fear of what might happen to you both. I didn't want our clan's mistakes to become your mistakes as well... As I told Sasuke, I now believe that you two had the ability to change our entire clan." Sakaria looked up at him, confused. "I hope that one day you can forgive me for all that has happened, but I want you to know that I believe in you."

"I don't understand..." Sakaria said, laying her head against his chest again, "I was burdened with the truth, and I wasn't allowed to say anything... I wasn't allowed to make Sasuke... or anyone understand why you did what you did." Her voice was quiet, not wanting to bring up that terrible night. She decided to change course, "Am I doing the right thing, Itachi? I left the village with these two ninja to find Sasuke... but... I don't know why. I know that Sasuke is planning to attack the leaf, but I don't know if I'm supposed to help him or try to convince him to-" Itachi stopped her again, holding her closer to him.

"I think you'll find that our brother has his own way of making decisions, and it won't matter what you say," She was entirely confused by this. Itachi had just said he believed in her...that he believed she could have invoked change amongst their clan. Now, he's convinced she can't even change their brother's mind? "You have to find your way." Itachi continued, "You have to make your own decisions."

"But... what if I decide wrong?" She asked, shaking in uncertainty.

"I made wrong decision after wrong decision," her brother reminded, running his hand over her head. "but, somehow things always ended up just as they should have."

"Can't you just tell me if what I'm doing is the right thing?" She asked again, almost impatiently.

Itachi chuckled a little then sat her up again, flicking her forehead, "You've always been so restless." He teased, kissing the top of her head then pressing his forehead to hers, "You'll find that out on your own, little sister... but whatever happens, please know this. I will always be your big brother..." He pulled away slightly as if a thought just struck him, "Speaking of which, if that white haired boy you're traveling with hurts you, I will find a way to make his life a living hell." Sakaria giggled at his side commentary, tears still beading in her eyes causing Itachi to smile and set his forehead against hers again, holding her close. "I am so proud of the woman you are becoming. I am proud to call you my sister... and I will love you... always." He wrapped her in his arms once again, and a bright light appeared, blinding her as it engulfed every particle of the atmosphere around them. She reached out fervently trying to bring him back to her, not wanting Itachi to leave again. Then, the next thing she knew, she was back in her bed, attempting to catch her breath.

Tears came to her eyes again as she held her knees tightly. Suddenly, though, she felt embarrassed, remembering Suigetsu was sleeping beside her. She decided to crawl out of bed gently, so as not to wake him, then tiptoed into the small, adjoining bathroom, turning on the shower. _I'm surprised Suigetsu didn't wake up at all,_ She thought, stepping into the water, now able to cry freely.

In the room, however, Suigetsu opened one eye, looking in the direction of the bathroom where the glow of the light inside seeped under the door. He could hear the shower running. _Wonder what her problem is..._ He thought, raising an eyebrow with one eye still closed. He was fighting an internal struggle, deciding if he should check on her or just go back to sleep. _She's always so dramatic._ He shook the last thought from his head, figuring something must be wrong if she was up so late.


	15. Chapter 15

**_**Author's Note: MATURE CONTENT WARNING. Please skip this part if you aren't interested. Thank you! 3 **_**

Moments later, Sakaria was still in the shower, wondering how much time must have passed. Her tears had stopped and were replaced by a calming confidence. She decided she must have had that dream... or whatever it was, for a reason, and that Itachi was going to always be with her. Even if he couldn't give her the right answers in that moment, there would come a time that he would help her somehow, and she knew that. She sighed out, washing the tears from her face, then thought back to what dream Itachi had said to her about Suigetsu. "I will always be your big brother... and if that white haired boy you're traveling with hurts you, I will find a way to make his life a living hell." She giggled again at the thought. Just when she decided to step out from the shower, she felt a disturbance in the water behind her, then smirked without looking back to him. "Suigetsu, what are you doing?"

He sighed, annoyed that he'd have to answer such an obvious question. "Normal people don't take showers at three in the morning, fireball," he said, pulling her back into the water by her shoulder and turning her toward him. She watched as the lower half of him solidified, then quickly averted her eyes back to his face, blushing.

"Who ever said I was normal?" Sakaria replied, allowing him to shut the shower door again. "How'd you get in here?" She looked up at the ceiling for some place he could have dropped in from, but Suigetsu stopped her pondering by pinning her against the shower wall. In that instance, Sakaria remembered how vulnerable and exposed she was, but, after feeling his skin press against hers, it suddenly didn't matter.

"Water can't be stopped by things like doors, floors, or walls," he grinned, "If there's even the smallest area to flood, it will always get in." Sakaria felt the heat in her face rise as he spoke.

"Under the door then, huh?" She asked, knowingly, "Did you mess up the carpet in the room, cause if so, we have to pay for that, you know?" Suigetsu stopped her nagging by pulling away slightly, allowing the cold air to seep in between them.

"Shut up," He said, rolling his eyes. "Let's get back on topic here. What are you doing in the shower? You should be sleeping. You know, the whole point of us stopping was to get some rest before we caught up to your brother an-" He was silenced by Sakaria's hand across his mouth as she looked up at him, annoyed.

"Do you want me to answer your question or do you want to lecture me? Pick one or the other." Suigetsu raised an eyebrow as she pulled her hand away.

Who is this girl? He pondered curiously, My little fireball seems awfully full of herself all of a sudden. "Fine. Answer the damn question then."

"I had a... strange dream..." She said, not wanting to call it something that it wasn't. It wasn't a nightmare, or even a bad dream. It just left her feeling contented and somber all in the same breath. When Suigetsu's face didn't change from his earlier confusion, she continued, "It was like Itachi came to see me one last time." Suigetsu, suddenly understanding, felt the same tenderness from earlier rise up in him, and he brushed her soaked hair from her face with his fingers, looking into her eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked, sincerely.

"I'm fine," she assured, moving her hand to intertwine her fingers in his, "I think... I needed to talk to him again. Even if it was just a dream." Suigetsu smiled softly, his sharp tooth peaking over his lower lip like always.

"Want me to cheer you up?" He joked, pressing himself against her again, fully prepared to be smacked in return for his playful advance. Instead, Sakaria boldly placed her free hand on his neck and pulled him down to her, kissing him deeply. Not expecting this, Suigetsu didn't kiss her back immediately and pulled away much quicker than Sakaria had anticipated.

"What's wrong?" She asked, suddenly confused. "Am I not doing something right?"

Suigetsu's face was stern, "I was only kidding. You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he reminded.

"I know," Sakaria replied, staring up at him and smiling softly, trying to break his sober gaze. Suigetsu suddenly smiled confidently and lifted her against the shower wall, leaning into her.

"I knew you wanted me," he grinned eagerly, one arm holding her thigh firmly in place while he pressed her back against the wall, and the other moving up her waist, exploring her gently.

"Teh," She rolled her eyes and turned her head to avoid his hungry stare, still grinning, "Don't give yourself too much credit. If you ask the same question over and over, the answer will eventually change, right?"

"Only if the right answer wasn't being given initially," he whispered teasingly, leaning into her ear and kissing behind it. She felt his tongue run along her neck and chill bumps covered her skin. His grip on her thigh tightened and he shifted some of her weight onto his own waist as the hand that had run along her body made its way from her stomach to her neck, grazing over her breasts gently as his top half leaned away. After lightly gripping her throat, he goaded, "I want you to ask for it now... no..." He shook his head, correcting himself and smiling coaxingly, "I want you to beg for it."

Sakaria, incredibly intrigued by this, looked away again, smirking. She acted as if she couldn't hear him, but Suigetsu turned her face back toward him once more with his index finger, still gripping her neck with the others. Sakaria opened her mouth, debating on whether or not to give in, but then giggled a little and shook her head as slightly as she could. "We should just go back to bed," she teased. Suigetsu was shocked for a moment, unsure as to whether or not she was joking. After determining that she was, he chuckled himself, and moved his free hand back to her thighs, picking her up from against the wall.

"Sure, let's go back to bed." He carried her, soaking wet, to the bed and practically tossed her on it, the comforters suddenly being used as makeshift towels. Sakaria, completely surprised, burst into laughter, but was silenced by Suigetsu who's teeth had somehow found their way to her inner thigh. She let out a quiet moan, unsure of what he was doing. Suigetsu continued this torment for several minutes, trailing small kisses and nipping down her thighs with his sharp teeth, always stopping just before...

"Suigetsu..." Sakaria whined, feeling his breath tickle in between her legs as he laughed through his nose.

"I don't hear you begging," he persisted, continuing his torture. Sakaria threw her head back onto the bed, raking her hands through the saturated hair on her scalp in frustration. She wasn't sure what to say. This was all new to her, and she expected it just to come naturally and gently but, just like everything Suigetsu did, it was proving to be filled with anticipation and obstacles.

She turned her head, bunching the comforters over her mouth and mumbled a muffled and embarrassed, "Please," into them. This caused Suigetsu to grin and pull away more.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you..." He said, sarcastically putting a hand to his ear. She moused something again, and Suigetsu lowered himself, running a finger ever so lightly over her. This sudden sensation caused Sakaria to pull away from the blankets, entirely ready for whatever would come next, but Suigetsu stayed still, only petting her lightly. "What was that?" He looked up at her, his finger still moving in the same rhythmic motion. "I think I heard you say please, but I'm not sure..." He'd never had this much fun before. He had always enjoyed forcing people out of their comfort zone and dominating any situation, but this was a new high for him; watching the small girl in front of him squirm, her body pleading for more, but her mouth too embarrassed to form the words. "C'mon... All you have to do is be a good girl and say 'please master Suigetsu,' nice and loud, and then you can have what you want..." He took his free arm and rested his elbow on her thigh, leaning his head against it nonchalantly. "That's not too hard is it?"

"Wh-What happens if I don't?" Sakaria panted, aching as his finger moved over her delicately. She had gone over the lines she had been given over and over in her head, but she couldn't push past the awkward knot building at the back of her tongue. She resorted to asking questions in order to bide time, as if her companion would give up and decide it wasn't worth the wait. Suigetsu, of course, only raised his eyebrow and a hungry smirk crossed his face as he pulled his hand away.

"If you don't?" He said, standing. He pulled her up by her arms then set her in the floor on her knees, standing above her. "Well, if you don't then I'll get to have all the fun." He touched himself then tapped her lips with his member resisting the urge to push into her mouth. To his surprise, Sakaria opened her lips wide as if she wasn't new to this at all, and ran her tongue across it, causing Suigetsu to jolt slightly. He grabbed the back of her head and forced her to take him into her mouth, pulling her hair to bob her head back and forth. "See?" He rasped, wincing at how good she was making him feel, "I knew you could be a good girl," Sakaria gazed up at him, her black eyes wide and innocent. Suigetsu took in the sight and pushed himself down her throat, watching her wince slightly as she took him in. When he allowed her to pull away, a stream of spit dripped from her lips, and he picked her up, tossing her back on the bed. "Wanna try again?" He mused, putting himself back in their previous position.

"Why do I have to call you 'master'?" Sakaria asked, almost rolling her eyes.

"Because I said so," Suigetsu said, amused at how bratty she could be, "and last time I checked, I make the rules." He nipped at her thigh again but eased the pain with a quick kiss afterward. "Doesn't that make me your master?"

"I can't take it anymore," Sakaria groaned in aggravation, tossing her head back on the bed again.

"You wouldn't have to if you'd just say what I told you to say..." His tone was so carefree as he circled her entrance with his index finger, sizing her up.

"Please, Suigetsu," she whined, scooting closer to him in an attempt to increase the pressure of his finger. She thought this might be enough to get him to give in to her, but it wasn't.

"Ah, Ah, Ah," Suigetsu said, shaking his head, "You know the words."

"Please..." She growled, annoyed that he had managed to make her give in. A deep red blush spread across the bridge of her nose. "Master Suigetsu..."

He wasted no time at this point. He moved his mouth to her, his tongue immediately going to work in between her legs. While she bucked into him, whining at this entirely new sensation, he pushed his finger inside her, morphing it in to water to reach deeper on occasion. Sakaria could almost see stars as she dug her own fingers into the comforter, riding the wave of pleasure he was giving her until he pulled away suddenly. She looked at him, her lip poked out in disappointment, and he crawled on top of her again, his hands hungrily grabbing her hips and her breasts while his tongue traced up her body. Sakaria, abruptly pulled from the feeling, was suddenly invaded with a thought. I didn't think my first time would be so... rough. She shook it from her head, looking down at Suigetsu as he sucked on her collarbone. It wasn't that he was disregarding her feelings, but that, somehow, he knew what would make her feel good. Of course her first time wouldn't be slow and gentle. Not with Suigetsu. She should have known it would be rough and fast... and exciting. Her thoughts were interrupted as the white haired man above her pinned her arms above her head with one of his hands.

"You want it?" He asked, using his free hand to rub himself against her entrance teasingly. Sakaria nodded causing him to grin and shake his head. "We just went over this. What's the magic words?" He asked in a singing tone. Sakaria, being obstinate, turned her head and huffed, unwilling to give in to him again. "C'mon fireball... one more time..." He said, gliding his lips over her ear and cheek stopping at her neck.

"Fuck you," she said, half smiling. She wanted him so badly, but his teasing wasn't enough to push her over the edge. That is, until his teeth sunk into her skin where her shoulder met the base of her neck. The bite was hard and Suigetsu grinned through it as he heard Sakaria squeal, half in pleasure and half in pain, "Please, Master Suigetsu. Please give it to me."

"You Uchihas... always overachievers," he scoffed playfully in response to her ad-lib after pulling away. He licked a small drop of her blood from his lips, then positioned himself on his knees after scooting her further onto the bed. Suddenly, his rough and dominating personality dissipated slightly, and he leaned over her, still holding himself. "You ready?" He asked, thoughtfully looking into her eyes. Sakaria only managed to nod slightly this time, her body filled with nervous tension but also desire. He pushed into her slowly, grunting a little as her tightness enveloped and spasmed around him. He waited a few moments, then looked down at her, noticing the breath caught in her throat. "Hey..." He said, lifting her chin with his index finger, "Breathe." He reminded her of this just as he had when he had taught her to swim. After watching her chest slowly rise and fall a few times, he began pushing himself in and out of her, matching the speed of her breaths until she was moaning and whimpering lightly underneath him. Suddenly refocussing, he bit his lip, whispering, "Fuck," as pleasure overcame him. Instinctively, he grabbed her ankles and put them on his shoulders, then leaned toward her, bringing her knees into her chest and pushing into her g-spot.

Sakaria couldn't keep her composure at all. She squealed as Suigetsu continued to rock back and forth, sending waves of bliss over her body. Reduced to a whimpering mess, she waited as the pleasure built inside her, unsure of what it would feel like when she finally reached her climax. Just as she was about to crest into it, Suigetsu grinned, "Say thank you."

Afraid he would stop, she didn't put up a fight as her toes curled and her body shook, "Th-Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." She repeated the words as sweet release came over her, and Suigetsu leaned in to kiss her again, still pushing into her. She could taste the sweat from his upper lip as he grunted against her, but she could no longer pinpoint any other thought. The only thing that existed in that moment, was his frenzied, salty kiss, and Suigetsu, almost reaching his own peak. After a few moments, his movements fell out of time, becoming arrhythmic as he lost concentration, then he stopped, releasing inside her. He rolled off of her, lying by her side. His pinky still intertwined with hers as if he were making her some kind of unsaid promise. They laid there, staring at the ceiling for a few moments until Suigetsu pulled her into his chest.

"You okay?" He asked, looking down at her and brushing her long, wet hair from her shoulder to check the bite mark he had left on her neck. It was still bleeding a little, and Suigetsu silently wondered if it would scar.

"I'm okay." She confirmed. He kissed her forehead and set his head back down on the bed which was damp from a mixture of their freshly showered bodies and sweat.

"I think I like that mark on you," he grinned, closing his eyes, "Now everyone knows who you belong to." Sakaria laughed slightly through her nose causing Suigetsu to furrow his eyebrows. "You are mine... aren't you?" He asked, still not opening his eyes. He didn't know what he would do if she said no, but he was attempting to prepare himself for it.

"I'm yours," She mumbled simply, already drifting off to sleep.

"Good girl," he grinned. With that, he tossed the damp blankets over them and, although they were lying horizontally on the bed, they both fell asleep again.


	16. Chapter 16

In the morning, the rain outside had ceased and Sakaria woke up in a haze, confirming that last night hadn't been a dream by the position she was sleeping in and the water soaked sheets and carpet. The entire room was a mess with blankets and sheets strewn haphazardly across the bed and floor, further proving that sleep had been the least of her concerns the night before. She sat up, looking around the room and winced as a sharp pain seeped from her neck. She lifted her hand to the area to hold it suddenly until the initial sting subsided to a gentle ache. She then stood and walked into the bathroom to look into the mirror, analyzing the inflamed area and the perfect outline of Suigetsu's jagged teeth that branded her otherwise pale skin. Parts of the wound were already beginning to scab in an attempt to heal and Sakaria sighed, hoping it wouldn't scar. Although the sensation pained her, she flipped her long, now dry hair over her shoulder in an attempt to hide the damage.

After brushing her teeth and getting ready for the day, Sakaria emerged from the bathroom again, half expecting Suigetsu to have come back into the room by now, but he hadn't. She found this odd, but decided to dismiss it, and walked down to the lobby to find the innkeeper leaning over her desk looking bored. "Good morning," Sakaria grouched, reaching into her pocket for her coin purse.

"Geez, you know the world is at war so... you could be a little friendlier?" The girl said while tapping a pen on the desk apathetically. "Especially since I had to listen to you and lover-boy all night." Sakaria smirked slightly at this as a small feeling of triumph spread through her.

"Sorry, we just don't know how to keep it down sometimes I guess," she chirped. The innkeeper rolled her eyes and told her the total for the two rooms, and Sakaria handed her the money. "Speaking of which, have you seen the guys I was traveling with anywhere?" She continued, looking around the lobby.

"I think they left earlier this morning... said something about grabbing breakfast at some yogurt place nearby." The girl suddenly grinned wickedly, "you mean prince charming didn't tell you they were heading out? He must not care about you that much if he just left you here."

Sakaria gnashed her teeth slightly, then rolled her eyes, deciding to let it go. "Which way did they go?" The innkeeper pointed, and Sakaria nodded and headed out the door, content to never see the blue haired woman again.

After walking along the streets and scanning over the markets, her hair still thrown over her shoulder for coverage, Sakaria stopped at a yogurt shop and looked inside the window to see Suigetsu and Jugo sitting at a table with several parfait glasses surrounding them. She sighed in a mixture of relief and annoyance. After walking inside, Suigetsu flashed a big, snaggletoothed grin at her and motioned her over with his spoon still in hand. "Hey there, girlie. How'd you sleep?" He beamed, seemingly full of energy.

Sakaria slid in the booth next to him, almost reluctantly. What's he so chipper for? "I slept fine, thanks." Her voice came off as cold, masking her confusion. This caused Suigetsu to frown a little.

"Hm. I expected you to be a little happier to see me," he grumbled, his free hand sliding to her lap and intertwining his fingers in hers. Sakaria looked over at him and pulled away slightly, uncomfortable with showing so much affection in front of Jugo, who was as stone faced as ever.

"Well, you did leave without asking me if I wanted breakfast," Sakaria sighed, leaning her elbows on the table as Suigetsu, who was slightly offended, pulled his hand back, and took another bite of yogurt.

"I thought I'd let you sleep..." He said, scooping more of his breakfast onto his spoon without looking at her. "You seemed tired." He side eyed her, grinning slightly. Sakaria paid no mind to this and turned her attention to Jugo.

"What about you? What's your excuse?" She teased flatly.

Jugo looked shocked momentarily then shrugged. "Suigetsu said you'd be there when we got back."

"Thanks a lot guys," She huffed. Taking her seriously, Suigetsu waved the waitress over to them and ordered her something to eat, still confused by her stoic mood. Where had the playful girl he had spent the night with gone? Was she regretting last night already?

A few agonizing moments of silence passed and the waitress brought Sakaria a parfait glass filled to the brim with lavender yogurt. Suigetsu licked his lips slightly and smiled after finishing his sixth cup himself. "I think you'll really like that. That's my favorite."

"Why does that mean I'll like it?" Sakaria asked, her voice sounding harsh and almost venomous. Suigetsu, still confused and slightly disheartened, shrugged.

"I dunno. I just thought you'd want to try it at least." He leaned his cheek on his arm that was rested on the table, suddenly trying to appear uninterested, though, in reality, his feelings were hurt.

Sakaria took note of this and scooped a spoonful of the light purple food into her mouth. He was right, she did really like it. After eating it rather quickly considering how hungry she'd been, Sakaria turned to Suigetsu with the last bite on her spoon. "You want the last bite?" She asked feebly in an attempt to be nicer.

Suigetsu looked up at her, lifting his head from his hand, then smiled slightly. "Nah, I think I've had enough."

Jugo raised his eyebrow at this as Sakaria shrugged and put the spoon in her mouth. He'd never seen Suigetsu turn down food like that. _He's focusing on her neck an awful lot today... is he actually going to try and kill her? _He thought, genuinely not putting it past his companion.

After they finished their meal, the group left, heading back in the direction they'd come from. The only thing that was heard amongst the trio was the gravel of the trail crunching beneath their feet until Jugo said, "You're wearing your hair differently, Sakaria."

This jolted the girl as she made sure to comb her thick hair over her shoulder more in order to ensure the mark on her neck was hidden. "Oh. Uh, yeah. Sometimes I just like to.. Uhm... wear it this way." Her eyes darted to Suigetsu as he snickered knowingly behind her.

"I think I like it the other way," Suigetsu teased, cutting his eyes at Sakaria who snarled at him, silently telling him to shut up. Jugo suddenly regretted ever bringing it up.

"How long do you think it'll take us to get to Sasuke?" Sakaria asked in an attempt to remind Suigetsu they'd be seeing her brother soon.

"Who knows," Suigetsu said dismissively, "I'm sure we'll catch up to him sooner rather than later." He seemed entirely unfazed at the thought of Sasuke seeing his mark on her because he was. In fact, the idea sort of excited him a bit. Meddling was one of his favorite things to do after all.

"Apparently, Sasuke's been at the same spot for quite a while," Jugo chimed in, looking away from the bird that had perched on his finger while the other two talked. "If we hurry, we should catch up to him in no time."

"Hear that, fireball? You ready to see your brother again?" Suigetsu said playfully. These words caused Sakaria to stop in her tracks, and her two companions turned to her confused. Her stance seemed paralyzed and fearful as if impending doom was approaching them. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I..." Her voice trailed off until tears beaded in her eyes, "What if he doesn't want to see me?" Jugo was taken aback by this. Why was she asking this now? Especially considering they were so close to finding her brother. Conversely, Suigetsu walked to her and put his hand on the back of her neck, almost forcing her to walk forward.

"Of course he'll want to see you," he reassured, grinning, "Do you really think Jugo and I would have gone through all this trouble to get you here if we didn't think Sasuke would be over the moon that you were with us?" With that, Sakaria wiped her tears with her forearm, straightened herself, and the three continued into the woods once again.

Jugo talked to several of the forest animals along the way, all confirming that Sasuke hadn't left the area he'd been in for quite some time. The trek through the woods seemed short lived and they reached a large cave much sooner than any of them expected. "In here," Jugo said, heading inside. Sakaria reached out suddenly and grabbed his sleeve without looking at him. "Hm?" He stopped and turned his head to her.

"Do you think... maybe you could go in and just... warn him?" Jugo and Suigetsu both raised their eyebrows at her request.

"Warn him?" Jugo repeated her question, confused.

"I mean..." Sakaria's voice trailed off as she kicked the dirt underneath her meekly after letting go of Jugo's sleeve. "I'm sure Sasuke is probably dealing with a lot of stuff in his head right now... so maybe things would go over better if you guys told him I'm here instead of me just walking in."

Jugo started to interject, but Suigetsu put his hand up to him and walked back toward Sakaria, closing the distance between them so she had to look up at him. "How about we all walk in and you can hide somewhere until we let him know you're here. That way we know you're not gonna get cold feet and run off." He was saying this partially due to her sudden change in behavior since the night before. Sakaria nodded and Suigetsu grabbed her shoulder through the silky locks draped over it and dug his thumb into her wound intentionally as if to remind her it was there. "Don't run off on me now," he teased. Sakaria winced and pulled away slightly, gathering her confidence as she pushed past them to walk into the mouth of the cave, intent on finding a hiding spot.


	17. Chapter 17

Suigetsu and Jugo stumbled upon Sasuke partially by chance. Luckily for them, the passageways inside the cave all led to the large open room that Kobuto had used as a base of operations all this time. Sakaria had split off from the two some time ago, but Suigetsu was sure she was still close by because every so often, he could hear the faint sounds of her shoes splashing in small puddles nearby as if she were pacing back and forth.

During this time, Suigetsu and Jugo listened as Sasuke told them what had happened to Kobuto and how Itachi had helped him dispel the reanimation jutsu that had been cast._ I wonder if she's hearing all this... That her brothers have made amends and fought together against the same force... _Suigetsu thought, his eyes scanning the area for some sort of sign that she was still close. He snapped back to the conversation as Jugo asked how Itachi had managed to pull off such a feat and Sasuke explained the Izanami to them. He then told them that Itachi had vanished when the reanimation jutsu was released, and he was now stuck with more questions than answers.

"He told me my sister is still alive..." Sasuke said, looking back toward Kobuto. "I wonder if that's true... and after everything Itachi told me... I have so many questions an-"

"Well, turns out, I can help answer one of your questions at least," Suigetsu announced, interrupting Sasuke who seemed annoyed by this.

"How?" Sasuke's voice was as flat and tepid as usual, not really believing Suigetsu had anything of importance to say.

"Well, we come baring gifts!" He enthused sarcastically. "First..." He reached into his robe and found the scroll they had happened upon at Orochimaru's hideout. "And next..." He held out his hand, half expecting Sakaria to appear behind him but she did not. This caused Sasuke to raise his eyebrow.

"What does this have to do with my sist-"

"Oy! Fireball! That's your cue!" He called out, annoyed. When she still didn't appear, Suigetsu pinched the bridge of his nose, "Don't tell me you've lost your nerve again!"

"Who is he talking to?" Sasuke asked, turning to Jugo.

"Sakaria was with us a few moments ago. She asked that we ease you into the news before she came out because she was afraid of what you might say... but, now I wonder if she's worried herself and run off."

"She was... here?" Sasuke asked, his lax expression cracking as shock covered his face and a lone tear appeared in his eye.

"Don't worry, Sasuke, I'll get her out here one way or another," Suigetsu called, pulling out his sword as a last resort. He didn't plan to actually hurt her, but he was definitely annoyed enough to swat her over to her brother. His patience was never a match for things like this, and he usually resorted to intimidation to get things to speed along. "Come on out, girlie. No need to build anymore suspense."

"Suigetsu, put that away." Sasuke barked, causing Suigetsu to lower his sword confused. "Sakaria..." Sasuke called out into the hollows of the cave, hoping she could hear him as his voice echoed off the walls. "I..." He tried to think for a moment, unsure of what to say. It had been so long, and he could admit he didn't even know the girl he was talking to now. "It's been a long time." That was all he could muster, but it worked. From the ceiling of the cave, the small Uchiha girl dropped and landed several feet away from him, raking her hair over her shoulder nervously.

"Sasuke..." She, like her brother, didn't have many words. Nothing seemed to fit right in this situation. Should she apologize? Explain herself? Or did Sasuke already know everything that had happened? If he had spoken with Itachi like he said, he shouldn't need anymore information but...

Her train of thought ceased suddenly as she was enveloped by his strong arms that pulled her close to him just as Itachi had in her dream. He was so much bigger now... and so much like their eldest brother that it caused Sakaria to cry again as she held him back. "I've missed you so, big brother."

"I've missed you, too..." Sasuke pulled away, holding her at arms length by her shoulders. For a moment, Suigetsu and Jugo witnessed a true smile form on their leader's face as he took in the sight of his sister. "You..." He stopped and his smile widened as he flicked her forehead, just as their eldest brother would have done. "You've grown into your forehead."

Sakaria, still bewildered, took a moment to comprehend his insult, but met it with glee rather than anger. She laughed so hard it echoed off the cave walls and Sasuke's joined it. For a moment, the sound seemed like it could heal even the deepest wound. When it died down, Sakaria breathed a sigh of relief and looked up into Sasuke's eyes.

"Hurry up, Sakaria! We're going to be late!" Sasuke yelled running ahead of his little sister. As Sakaria struggled to keep up, she closed her eyes almost praying that her mom and dad wouldn't be home before they got there.

"Dad's going to kill us," she whined, picking up her pace. They had been scolded so many times for staying out too late and interrogated by their parents about where they had been going off to play and why it was taking them so long to get home. Both of them had taken an oath of silence though, and always managed to lie to their mom and dad about going into the village.

As they busted through the door, thousands of excuses rolling through their minds, they were greeted, as expected, by their parents who stood with their arms crossed in front of them and a disapproving glare crossing their faces. "Hi mom and dad!" Both said in unison, taking off their shoes hurriedly.

"Sasuke..." their father growled.

"Sakaria..." their mother's voice joined.

"Where have you two been?" This was a question the two had been asking so often that their simultaneous voices almost sounded rehearsed.

"We were just out playing!" Sasuke said, shooting a warning glance over at his sister. "Right, Sakaria?"

"Yeah! And it took us a long time to get back because..." Her voice trailed off as all of her made up excuses rattled in her brain.

"Because we lost track of time!" Sasuke finished.

"You two seem to be doing an awful lot of that recently," their father said, eyeing him suspiciously. "This is the third time this week that you've been late coming home... and you seem awfully out of breath for only running from the training grounds."

"Well, that's because we weren't coming from the training grounds!" Sakaria said confidently. Sasuke looked over at her, furrowing his eyebrows cautiously, ready to interrupt his sister if she started to tell the truth. "We went to play at Shisui's house!"

"Why on earth would Shisui want you to play there?" Their mother asked impatiently. "I'm sure he's much too busy to have you two running around and bothering him!"

"No, it's true, mom!" Sasuke replied, smiling in an attempt to seem more genuine, "Shisui said we could play in his yard since it's flat enough to play kick the can... so we're just tired from that and running all the way back home since his house is closest to the gates!"

"Yeah! And he wanted us to be able to stay long enough to catch fireflies!" Sakaria continued, "**That's** why it took us so long to get home." The two looked at each other and nodded, impressed by their own teamwork.

Their father closed his eyes and gritted his teeth together, trying to suppress the anger boiling inside of him. "Even still, you two have been told over and over again when you are expected home. You're worrying your mother to death almost every night and disrespecting us by staying out passed your curfew."

"We're sorry, daddy! We just-" Sakaria was silenced as their father put his hand out, signaling that he'd had enough of her excuses.

"Sorry isn't enough. Go to your rooms."

Hearing this, their mother lowered her arms and turned to their father. "Oh but Fugaku, they've not had dinner yet..." She said in their defense. Mikoto was never the disciplinarian in their household and had a lot of trouble holding grudges against her children. Fugaku shook his head, and headed into the house.

"They should have thought about that before coming home late," he snarled. With that, the two Uchiha children headed to their rooms and slammed their doors, sitting against the wall angrily. The only benefit to having two rooms at the end of the hallway was that there was a wall in between the two that they shared, and though Sakaria and Sasuke argued quite often about hearing the other play too loudly while one was trying to enjoy their privacy, they enjoyed their shared wall because they had found a way to carve a small hole in it so they could still talk when they were both in trouble.

"We wouldn't be in trouble all the time if mom and dad would just let me go in the village," Sakaria said, hugging her knees tightly.

"Yeah, but we should really stop sneaking off so much. Someone might see you soon and start asking questions." Sasuke reminded, taking heed of his parents' warnings although he didn't completely understand them.

"I don't get why I have to be hidden from everybody. Why aren't mom and dad glad they have a daughter?"

Sasuke shrugged on the other side of the wall. "Maybe they just think you're too pretty and want to keep you away from all the other boys in the village." Sakaria snickered at this, causing Sasuke to smile. "You're kind of like a princess who's locked in a tower."

"Yeah, but..." Sakaria sighed and lowered her head again, "doesn't a prince have to save me or something in order for me to get out?"

"Nah," Sasuke said, still smiling on the other side of the wall, "that's only in story books. Real princesses can save themselves... and sometimes they have big brothers to help them!" Sakaria grinned but the two were interrupted by the sound of a door down the hall opening and shutting.

"Itachi's home," Sakaria said after a moment of silence, "I wish we could see him."

"Me too," Sasuke sighed. They were quiet again, listening to the consistent sound of locusts outside their windows. Recently, Itachi had been away from home more often than not, so even when Sakaria and Sasuke did make it home in time for dinner, Itachi was hardly ever there to join them. When he was, he was pensive and reserved, often lost in his own world. His two younger siblings often asked him to spend time with them, but were always brushed off or told "some other time," never knowing when that would be.

"Hey Sasuke..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for taking me into the village," Sakaria moused from the other side of the wall.

Sasuke smiled a little, knowing how happy going out made his little sister, then griped, "Hey, not so loud. Mom and dad will hear." Sakaria leaned her head back against the wall smiling too.

When morning hit their windows, the two Uchiha got up and raced to the breakfast table where their mother greeted them with a smile. "Good morning you two. It's nice to see you on time this morning."

"Good morning, mama!" Sakaria said, sitting at the table and pushed Sasuke away from her seat next to Itachi. "Good morning, big brother!" Itachi looked down at her and forced a smile.

"Good morning, Sakaria," He said, placing his hand on her head.

"Hey, what about me!?" Sasuke complained, crossing his arms as he sat across from his siblings.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Itachi said, smiling in his direction as well. "What do you two plan on doing today?"

"We're going to play at Shisui's again today! Right, Sakaria?" Sasuke beamed as his sister nodded fervently beside him.

"Is that so?" Itachi's smile faded as he cut his eyes over to their mother to ensure she wasn't paying attention to their conversation while she continued to work in the kitchen. "You two are going to get caught if you keep wandering into the village," Itachi warned quietly, "Why don't you just wait until I can take the two of you out myse-"

"You never have time!" Sakaria whispered in protest, "Besides, me and Sasuke are careful!"

"Is that why you've been sent to your room for being late almost every night? Because you're careful?"

"Don't worry about us, Itachi." Sasuke interjected quietly, "I'll keep us safe." Itachi sighed and took a sip of his tea.

"Shisui said you two had a great time playing yesterday," Itachi said, loud enough for his mother to hear in order for her to lay her suspicions to rest. Sakaria and Sasuke looked at each other for a moment and smiled at their brother's confirmation of their story. "I hope he doesn't keep you late this time, though. You two be sure to come home **on time** tonight, alright?" Itachi said, a wary tone still heavy in his voice.

"We will, big brother!" The two confirmed, taking large bites of their breakfast. Once the two finished, Sakaria hugged Itachi and kissed his cheek and Sasuke hugged him too, then they both shouted goodbye to their mother as they ran out the door.

"Itachi..." Their mother said, watching out of the window as her two youngest children ran outside, "Tell me they aren't going into the village." Itachi looked up from his tea without taking the cup from his mouth. After a momentary pause, he set it on the table.

"They're just out playing, mother." Itachi said, neither confirming nor denying her suspicions. With that, he stood from the table and gathered his things, waving goodbye as he headed out for the day.

In the village, Sakaria chased Sasuke down the road, weaving in between the foot traffic as people walked to get their errands done. "Sasuke! Not so fast! I don't know this way yet!" Sakaria griped, not able to keep up with him in this unfamiliar territory.

"C'mon," Sasuke called, still running ahead, "We gotta make sure we get passed the building dad works in so he doesn't see!" Sakaria huffed and followed as closely as she could, but stopped when she was taken aback by something she saw in one of the store windows.

"Woah..." She whispered to herself as she walked toward the glass.

Sasuke noticed she wasn't following him, ran back to her quickly, and grabbed her by the arm, attempting to pull her away from the display case. "Come. On." He growled.

"Wait... Sasuke, what **is **this?" Sakaria said, her eyes bright as she stared inside the store window. Sasuke looked inside to see what she was staring at then tilted his head.

"You've never seen a sunflower before?" He asked, tilting his head as he looked into the window of the Yamanaka clan's flower shop. Before, he had been in a hurry to get passed their father's workplace... now he was in a hurry to get away from the shop before that annoying Yamanaka girl came out and tried to talk to him. She was always flipping her blonde hair around and making weird attempts to give him some kind of sultry stare and it freaked him out. "C'mon, I bet I can find a whole field of them. Let's go." He pulled her arm and they were off again just as the blonde came rushing out of the door to come talk to him. When she saw him hand in hand with some strange girl, she stamped her foot and walked back inside screaming.


	18. Chapter 18

On the other side of the village, Sasuke ran Sakaria up the steps of a building and onto the roof where she almost see the entire city. "**Wow**, Sasuke!" She beamed, running to the edge and looking around, trying to take everything in. "I didn't know the Leaf Village was so **big**!"

"Sure it is... and look over there!" He pointed in the opposite direction of her stare and Sakaria turned her head, searching for what he was indicating. "That's the academy... That's where I go to school... and you will too some day."

"Hn." Sakaria looked down and kicked the ground with the tip of her shoe, "I'm never gonna get to be in the academy."

Sasuke looked at her saddened expression and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't be silly, Sakaria." He said, encouragingly, "Mom and Dad have to let you join the academy sometime. You're smart like me and Itachi so I know you'll be a great ninja some day!"

Sakaria, suddenly excited, perked up and smiled, "Can we go see it?"

"Go... see it? Oh, I dunno, Sakaria..." Sasuke said unsure. "We might get caught an-"

"**Pleaaase**, Sasuke," She whined, tugging at his hand, "You'll have to start going back to school soon, and we won't get to come out as much. Please Please Pleaaase!"

"Okay, fine," Sasuke sighed, giving in, "But we have to be quick."

The two took off again, running as fast as they could, but they were stopped by a group of girls on the street. "Who's this, Sasuke-kun?" One of the girls demanded. Her high-pitched question was followed by an onslaught inquiries, all demanding to know who his companion was. Sasuke simply rolled his eyes and took Sakaria by the hand, sprinting off again, leaving the girls to cry and wallow in their self created heartache.

"You're pretty popular, huh Sasuke?" Sakaria said, raising her eyebrow and smirking. "Who would've thought so many girls would like you... you know, since your head looks like a duck butt and all..."

"Shut up, at least I can't land a plane on my forehead," Sasuke griped, still dragging her along.

Moments later, they reached the academy and Sakaria looked up at the entry way in awe. She asked Sasuke dozens of questions about his sensei and what his tests were like and if he had homework and if they got to play outside. Sasuke answered each of them with a melancholy smile, half saddened by the fact that his sister hadn't been able to experience all of this yet and may never be allowed to. Suddenly, the two were startled as a yellow haired boy walked over to the swing that was hanging on a nearby tree. When he noticed Sasuke, he snarled a little, but still took his seat.

"Who is that boy, Sasuke?" Sakaria asked lowly, staring hard at him.

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke mumbled back, trying to blow him off.

"You're not friends?"

"No. He doesn't really have any friends."

"That's not good..." Sakaria said, feeling saddened for the boy, "He looks sad..."

"Just leave him alone, Sakaria," Sasuke commanded as he grabbed her shoulders, turning her back toward the road they had come from, "We aren't suppose to be here anyway, remember?"

Sakaria allowed Sasuke to walk her back, but her eyes remained on the yellow haired boy on the swing until he was out of her line of sight, her heart heavy with sympathy. On the way back, Sakaria spotted two more boys walking in the direction of the village, one with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and the other, a chubby boy with a scarf around his neck. The two were seemingly close, and Sakaria hoped they were heading over to play with the yellow haired boy they had just left. That is, until the boy with the ponytail muttered, "Teh. Of course Sasuke's got some other girl following him around."

"Yeah, but I've never seen that girl before, Shikamaru," his companion said between bites of his chips. "Who** is** that?"

"What's it matter?" The other young boy griped, "It's not like she'd give us the time of day. She's obviously just like every other girl here. All about that Uchiha kid for some reason. Girls are such a pain." As Sakaria listened to this while the distance increased between them, she took back her hopes that they were going to play with the boy on the swing.

_Nevermind... Those boys don't seem very nice anyways... _The young Uchiha thought, still walking hand in hand with her brother.

"We should get home..." Sasuke stated, his stare still fixated on the road before them. He was beginning to feel uneasy with all of his classmates noticing his sister. Knowing he was going to be bombarded with questions once they went back to school was one thing, but what if they went home and told their parents? That might cause an entirely new issue for the both of them. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by his little sister tugging her hand away and stamping her foot in the dirt.

"You said we'd go find a field of those sunflowers!" She growled, crossing her arms in front of her. She was reminded of his words by the hair color of the lonely boy on the swing and how it resembled the flowers she had seen earlier that morning.

"Yeah, but..." Sasuke looked around making sure they were alone. "We're gonna get caught out here if we don't get home."

"But you said we'd go, Sasuke! You **said** so!" She insisted. "You promised we'd get to see the whole village before you went back to school."

"Yeah, but if we stay out here, then we might run int-"

"Your father?" Suddenly startled from their conversation, the two Uchiha children looked up to see their father standing over them, glaring angrily. Suddenly feeling two inches tall, both children stared up at Fugaku who towered over them and eclipsed the sun, causing a shadow to cover the two.

"D-daddy... we-"

Fugaku held his hand up, signaling his daughter to save her excuses. His silence struck fear into her more than any words he'd ever say could. After standing there for a long moment, the vein in his forehead protruding in anger, he grabbed both of his children by the hand and lead them back toward their homestead through the woods so no one would see. The walk was long and filled with anticipation of what would come when the three finally reached their home, but they were stopped by Itachi before they arrived.

"Father..." Itachi looked down at his two siblings, slightly relieved that he had finally found them after looking hurriedly through the village, but still not at ease considering their father had found them first. "Please... Go easy on them. Sakaria is a curious natured girl after all and they jus-"

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat', Itachi? Do you have any idea what could happen if the village found out that Sakaria..." Fugaku stopped himself and swallowed his words to be sure Sakaria wasn't made aware of the reasoning she was kept in hiding.

"Yes, but-"

"But satisfaction brought it back..." Sakaria moused, her hand still clutched tightly in her father's. The three Uchiha males cast their direction down at her and Sasuke sent her a glare, signaling for her to quiet herself.

"What did you say?" Fugaku growled. His eyes didn't leave her as she looked to the ground and spoke more to her shoes than her father.

"The entire phrase is, 'Curiosity killed the cat... but satisfaction brought it back." Her voice was small and feeble, but sure as she corrected him.

"Don't argue semantics with me," the patriarch glared, forgetting for a moment he was talking to his five year old child. "You have no idea the stress you put your mother and I under."

"Then why don't you just get rid of me!" Sakaria shouted, pulling her hand away, "Let me go live with some other family who isn't embarrassed of me and doesn't want to hide me away!" She looked up at him at this point with tears spilling onto her reddened cheeks. "I hate hiding and not being allowed to go to school. I hate not being able to have friends. I hate being your daughter!" She screamed the last words, striking a chord with Fugaku and shocking him so his reaction time was delayed when she ran off into the woods.

"Sakaria!" Sasuke shouted, trying to pull away from his dad who's grip was solid and stone like.

Fugaku looked to Itachi, his mouth hung open as if he was searching for the words, but Itachi spoke instead, "I'll go after her father." With that, he jumped away into the trees, getting to higher ground so he could spot her easily. Sasuke, finally managing to pull his hand from his father's solid grip, looked up at his him angrily, all fear of punishment replaced with worry for his sister.

"You and mom always act like Sakaria is some kind of burden, but she's not. She's your daughter... and she's my sister... and now she's..." Sasuke tried to bite his tongue before becoming too emotional, but his mouth spewed out the words before he could catch them, "**Gone!**"

"Sasuke... Someday you will understand... I promise..." Fugaku lowered his head, walking in the same direction he had been heading in the first place, knowing that he would only get in the way of Itachi bringing Sakaria back. Sasuke stood still, not believing his father's words. How could he treat her that way and expect her to want to be a part of their family? He was always treating Itachi like he hung the moon, but never gave his younger two children the time of day. It was especially so in Sakaria's case. Sasuke not only felt badly for his sister, but he related to her. All of this rushed through his head as he ran ahead of his father towards their house, hoping Itachi had somehow beat him there already with their little sister in tow.

Later that night, when Itachi finally returned, he came in holding Sakaria, who was sleeping soundly on his shoulder. He was greeted at the door by both his mother and father who stared at the sleeping child sorrowfully and mouthed quiet "thank you's" to their eldest son. Itachi pushed onward, not looking up at either parent as he took Sakaria to her room, laid her in bed, set her favorite stuffed white bear beside her, and tucked her in, doing his best not to wake her. When he turned to leave, Sasuke was in the door frame, a look of heartache crossing his face where Itachi had expected relief.

"I don't get it, big brother," Sasuke said, sitting with Itachi in his room as he prepared his things for his mission the following day. "Why can't Sakaria go into the village? Why don't mom and dad want people to know she's our sister?"

"There are a lot of things you don't know, Sasuke," Itachi murmured, not looking up as he sharpened one of his kunai.

"Then explain it to me!" Sasuke begged, trying to catch his brother's eye as he searched his face, "It's not fair."

"Some other time."

"You're always saying that! You're just like mom and dad sometimes! You push us away and don't talk to us like we're people!" The younger brother said defensively, "If you don't tell me why we've kept our sister a secret for so long, I'm going to assume what we always have!" His statement was bold and sure, causing Itachi to look up at him solemnly.

"And what would that be...?" Itachi asked, genuinely curious.

"That mom and dad are ashamed of her." Itachi furrowed his eyebrows at this and shook his head vigorously.

"That's not true," He stood, seemingly angry and set his kunai on his nightstand, looking out the window to avoid Sasuke's gaze. "Our mother and father love all of us... we are very lucky to have the parents that we do, so please don't ever take that for granted."

"I don't think they love Sakaria one bit!" Sasuke said, still firmly defending his little sister, "Especially since dad just walked away and left her in the woods today. He didn't even **try** to catch her!"

Itachi took a moment to think, then turned and headed toward the door, sliding it open and motioning for his little brother to follow him. They both walked softly down the hallway and peered into Sakaria's room from the door frame, taking in the picture painted before them by the low light of a candle that hardly illuminated the room.

On her bed, Fugaku held Sakaria's sleeping form close to him and Mikoto brushed the stray black hairs from her small pale face. "I hate to see her so sad, Fugaku," the matriarch whispered, staring lovingly at her youngest child.

"It can't be helped," Fugaku replied, running his coarse thumb over his daughter's cheekbone which was stained red from all the crying she had done that evening, "Not until we regain power."

"Do you ever think we made a mistake... keeping her, I mean..." Fugaku looked up at his wife indignantly for a moment then shook his head and looked back down.

"She is one of the best things that has ever happened to us... All of our children are. I'm so proud of how intelligent and talented they are..." His voice trailed off and he smiled weakly, "You should have seen the way she stood up to me today. If anything, she's going to be a little fireball." They both laughed quietly at the thought of their daughter's bold personality and Fugaku continued, still smiling. "She is so passionate... and she has the biggest heart out of all three of our children... The leaf village is missing out on a wonderful little girl." Fugaku turned to Mikoto again, suddenly serious, "That's why the plans our clan have laid out are so important... Not only for us... but for our children. For her." Mikoto nodded, still petting her daughter's head.

Sasuke, no more enlightened than he had been before, looked up at Itachi and walked away from the doorframe, sighing. "Maybe they do love her... but they should show her that every once in a while." With that he went to his room and shut the door, putting himself to bed, still confused.


	19. Chapter 19

"I can't believe you're standing in front of me," Sasuke said, staring down at her, his hands still wrapped around her shoulders. "I thought you were-"

"Did you really think Itachi would pick one of us over the other?" Sakaria interrupted, slightly offended. Sasuke thought for a moment as he looked at the floor.

"I wasn't sure what he would or wouldn't do," he admitted. "After I learned the truth about our clan and the village, I started hoping that you were still out there somewhere... and when Itachi told me you were still alive, I was going to come find you." He took his hands from her shoulders and looked at Suigetsu and Jugo, then back to her, "What happened? I mean... How did you survive all this time with Itachi... and when he was in the akatsuki, how did he keep you a secret? I don't think I understand."

Sakaria sighed, her head pounding from the interrogation, and thought back to where she should begin. She took in a deep breath as if preparing her lungs for the speech she was about to give. "When Itachi killed our clan, he made me hide in the woods... He told me that the police force was launching an investigation on Shisui's suicide, and that I needed to hide so we wouldn't get in trouble." Sasuke nodded, thinking how clever Itachi must have been to think of such a lie, but that it almost seemed unnecessary to fool a child with such elaboration. "When he came back into the woods to get me, he told me he had killed everyone but... Something about him seemed... sad..."

"I wish I'd been able to tell..." Sasuke said, suddenly jealous of his sister's empathetic heart.

"I told him I wanted to go with him... later, he told me that he was glad I chose that because, since the village had no idea I had been born, he had made no agreement with the Hokage to keep me safe like he had with you..." Sakaria looked down trying to remember back to her childhood after the leaf village, but everything seemed so hazy. "When Itachi first joined the akatsuki, he kept me hidden most of the time, always leaving me in the woods nearby... but that proved to be problematic after I was attacked several times and hurt... Eventually, he explained himself to Pain, who reluctantly took me into the village." Her mind was suddenly flooded with images of her playing in the rain and folding origami with Konan whenever she wasn't on missions. "Once I was old enough..." Her voice shook as she admitted, "I joined the akatsuki myself." Suigetsu glanced over at her at this, unsure as to why she'd never said anything about any of this to him. "I did what I had to do to stay with Itachi... and I wasn't sent out much...but, if I was, most of the time I was either with Itachi and Kisame or Deidara. I was sent out with Hidan once but..." Sakaria shook the thought from her head, not wanting to delve into the trauma that ensued after setting out on a mission with the Jashin follower who reveled and worshipped in violence, "Itachi never let that happen again... Anyway," She digressed, "After a while, he told me everything about the village and you... and why I couldn't go back to you. I had tried once before, but Orochimaru got in the way." Sasuke's attention was diverted to the curse mark that covered her shoulder and he snarled a little, angry that his sister had been around the snake sage at all. Sakaria looked up at Sasuke, her ashamed face replaced with a look of promise. "I never stopped hoping we'd be a family again, Sasuke," She said, staring at her brother whose mouth hung open, searching for words, "and Itachi never stopped protecting you."

"How did you end up with Suigetsu and Jugo?" Sasuke asked, not wanting to delve too far into the emotional storm that was whirring in his head.

"The leaf took me captive after the Anbu confirmed that I was still alive. Apparently, mom had kept track of all of our accomplishments in a diary that had been hidden somewhere at home, and they found it along with a picture of the three of us that had been kept inside." Sakaria lowered her head once again, saddened at the thought of her mother's journal filled with prideful memories being sifted through for information about her accidental daughter. "I stayed in the leaf village for quite some time and I was going to try to find you before you got to Itachi but no one would let me leave... I had everyone's eyes on me all the time until word got out that you had attacked the summit and killed Danzo... The village was still in shambles at the time and everyone was scrambling to rebuild and gather intel for the war so I became the least of their worries I gu-"

"Hold on," Sasuke said, holding his head while trying to piece together the information he was being given. "How could you let yourself be captured by the leaf after all Itachi did to keep you safe... and why wasn't Itachi there to stop that from happening?"

"Itachi was getting sick..." Sasuke's eyes widened at this, remembering Itachi coughing up blood as they had fought. "He told me it was time for me to be on my own."

"I thought when Itachi said you should start going out on your own, that meant 'on your own,' hmm?" Deidara complained, pulling his long blonde hair back into a ponytail. "I don't get why I have to go with you to this stupid temple."

"I asked nicely," Sakaria said sarcastically, sliding on one of her sandals, "And besides, do you **really** want me going out all by myself?"

"Why should I care? I don't like your brother, so I don't like you by association, yeah."

"You're not fooling anyone, Deidara," Sakaria rolled her eyes and smirked at him as she stood up straight. "Besides, I thought you might like to come to the temple. There's bound to be **something** you can blow up there... You know, for fun or whatever."

"It's for **ART,**" the blond akatsuki member shouted, half growling at her. "This is why I don't like you," he confirmed, shaking his head and following her out of the door, "You and your brother have no idea how to appreciate true art. Hmm."

"I seem to recall you being enamored by my brother's appearance the first time you set eyes on him," Sakaria teased, "So, I feel like you have to at least like us a little."

Deidara became flustered at this and shook his head adamantly this time, "Just because something looks nice, doesn't mean I have to like it! Hmm!"

"Well, I feel the same way about your 'art.'" Sakaria grinned, not turning to see Deidara fuming behind her. As they headed down the road in the direction of the temple, their feet sloshed in the mud that was created by Pain's never ending rainfall. "Don't you think it will be nice to get out of the rain for a little while?" Sakaria asked after a few moments of silence. "You should make us a bird so we can get there quicker."

"Are you kidding!? After you just said you didn't like my art!? Hmm!?" He crossed his arms in front of him and stuck his nose up in the air, closing his uncovered eye as if to shield himself from her pleading expression.

"C'mon, Deidara," Sakaria whined. When her yellow haired companion didn't budge, she sighed, turned, and looked up at him again, poking out her lip and ready to strike a bargain. "Tell you what, you make us a bird and get us where we're going, we can stop and buy you some new art supplies at the closest village." Itachi hadn't taught Sakaria much about being on her own, but she had learned how to peak someone's interest. She watched as Deidara opened his one eye but didn't uncross his arms, a sign that he was listening, but she hadn't entirely won him over. "I'll buy anything you want."

"Where the hell did **you** get money, hmm?" Deidara asked suspiciously, still only staring at her with his one blue eye.

"Don't ask," Sakaria said, pulling out a small coin purse. Deidara recognized it as Hidan's and quickly decided not to press the matter so as not to involve himself. "So, where's that bird? C'mon, we're getting soaked out here." Defeatedly, her companion unfolded his arms and suddenly the pair was on the back of a clay bird Deidara had sculpted. Once they were high in the air, Sakaria watched as the sun set in the sky, leaving a creamsicle color mixed among the pink clouds. "Now, **that** is art," Sakaria sighed dreamily.

Deidara couldn't bring himself to argue with her, which was rare. Although they'd only started really talking to each other recently, the two had become fast friends, even if he didn't always like to admit it. This made his goal to kill Itachi one day a little more complicated because he wouldn't ever want to hurt Sakaria like that, but he decided he'd deal with that as it came. For now though, it was just nice having someone that was relatively close to his age to talk to. "What are we going to this temple for again hmm," Deidara asked, looking down over the buildings below, thinking of what they'd look like if he had dropped a bomb on even one of them.

"I'm just getting a feel for the area," Sakaria said, shrugging. She knew this was a lie and that she was really searching the area for Sasuke in hopes that she could talk him down from killing their brother, but if she had told Deidara that, he might try to attack Itachi before Sasuke would even get the chance anyway. "If I'm going to be on my own, I think I should start learning the layouts of places a little better... and this is the only place I can think of that is close enough to the sound village without actually going inside of it. I know we won't get caught there."

"Why do I feel like a sheep being lead to slaughter," Deidara mumbled, annoyed.

"You are kind of sheepish, aren't you?" The Uchiha girl cooed, patting her companion on the head sarcastically. He swatted at her hand and snarled at her, causing her to giggle.

"You sure are pressing your luck today," The blond warned, eying his companion angrily. "If you aren't careful, I might just blow you away. Hm."

"That would probably be the first and only time you'd ever have that effect on a girl," Sakaria muttered, peering over at him with a wicked smirk on her face.

"You're such a bitch!" He scoffed, slamming his hand down on the bird he had sculpted causing it to disappear underneath them. Suddenly, Sakaria found herself grasping the air, attempting to grab hold of something to stop her from falling as she screamed. Just as quickly as she found herself skydiving, she landed on a new bird sculpture safely after it flew under her to catch her. She blew her black hair from her face, casting an angry look at the artist before her.

"Why would you do that!?" She complained, fixing her hair and scowling at him. "You could have killed me!"

"I wish!" Deidara barked, rolling his eyes. "That just goes to show, you should be nicer to someone who is doing you a favor. Especially if that favor is several thousand feet in the air. Hmm."

"Ugh! Now I know why you're paired up with Tobi! You're just as annoying!" Deidara looked over at her, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Why do you sound like you're being serious? Hmm?" He asked, his feelings actually hurt, "What's gotten into you?"

Sakaria sighed and sat up straight, criss crossing her legs on the clay bird's back. "Sorry, Dee... I just..." She bit her thumbnail out of habit, trying to calm down, "It's been hard adjusting to not being with Itachi... and I'm just worried about a lot of things."

"Well, don't take it out on me," Deidara fussed, still looking annoyed until he plopped down beside her, leaned his elbow on his knee, and propped his chin in his hand, gazing at her with a slight smile, "Especially since I'm your only friend."

Sakaria looked up at him curiously, but soon her face softened into a smile. Afterwards, looked down below to find that their destination was a few yards away. "We're here!" She cheered as the bird descended. After it landed on the temple lawn, it disappeared in a poof of smoke, and the two akatsuki members stood, gazing up at the massive, dilapidated temple that was before them.

"What a train wreck," Deidara said, raising an eyebrow, "You were right, Sakaria, looks like there **is** a place I can bomb. I'll turn this place into a true masterpiece! hmmm."

"Not so fast, picasso," Sakaria said, walking ahead of him into the temple, "You blow this up, and we won't have anywhere to sleep." Her matter of fact tone cause Deidara to fly off the handle once more.

"Sleep!? You didn't say anything about being out all night! I have a life too, yeah. And what if Pain has something for us to do!? Then what!? Hmm!?"

"Man, **someone** sure is acting like a kiss-ass all of a sudden," Sakaria said, pushing the large wooden door of the temple open on her own and listening as the hinges groaned from disuse. "Did you wash your hands after they were done sucking Pain's-"

"Would you just shut up already!?" Deidara growled, flailing his hands in the air, "All I'm saying is I don't think we should be deciding to wander around in our spare time what with Pain wanting us to all focus finding the jinchuriki. Just because you're Itachi's kid sister, doesn't mean you get a pass to goof off and do whatever you want, hmm."

"News to me," Sakaria replied arrogantly as she looked up at the stained glass windows of the temple. Deidara huffed, ready to give up arguing with her yet again. It was rare that his opinion ever seemed to matter to her anyway. "We're only staying here for the night, then we can go back. I'll tell Pain we were scouting out the hidden sound to see if maybe the nine tails jinchuriki was poking his head around here looking for Sasuke."

"Yeah, because lying to Pain has worked** so** well in the past." The blond ninja replied, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes at her as he followed her into the abandoned temple. He started to take in his surroundings a bit more after listening to his voice echo off of the dilapidated walls. The ceiling above them must have been at least two hundred feet high and, despite night falling over them, the moonlit windows casted beautiful shadows onto the creaky wooden floor.

"I've gotten away with it enough," Sakaria shrugged, her hand grazing the marble as she danced around one of the five columns that stood in two single file lines throughout the massive, empty room. The sixth in the far right corner had fallen and shattered into three rather large pieces on the floor.

"This place doesn't freak you out?" Deidara asked, ultimately deciding to change the subject. "It's pretty dark in here."

"It's not too bad," Sakaria said, looking around, "But, we definitely need to lighten things up a bit." On the walls, she spotted torch holders and one by one, she lit them using small bursts of her jutsu. Once the room was somewhat lit, she smiled over at Deidara who had taken off his akatsuki robe and found a seat against one of the pillars. She walked over to him, taking off her robe as well and placing it on the floor so she could sit on it.

"Remind me, again, why we have to sleep here? You're just getting a feel for the area, right? So, why do we have to stay all night, hmm?" Deidara asked, taking off his satchel and setting it beside himself so he could dig through it.

"It's already night time," Sakaria reminded, shifting her position so she could lie on her stomach. She propped her chin on her hands while her feet alternated swaying back and forth, looking much like a normal teenage girl.

"Yeah, but it's not like it's late enough to go to sleep." Her friend grumbled in reply, feeding his right hand some of the clay he had found in the bottom of his bag just to fiddle around and ease some of the boredom that was growing. The trouble with Deidara's artistic personality was, much like Sakaria, he needed constant stimulation. The words "sit still," seemed more like a call for execution to him, so he wasn't very fond of things like going to bed early.

"We could play a game!" Sakaria suggested, watching as a tiny spider-like creature crawled from the mouth in Deidara's palm and over to a small monk statue that was abandoned by whatever religion was once practiced there. After making a handsign, he let out a small grunt and watched as his creation exploded, creating a tiny spark and disappearing, taking the relic with it.

"A game?" The artist asked, rolling his eyes, "You know, if you wanted to have some girlie sleep over, we could have done it back home. Hm." Sakaria sighed and set her cheek back on her bent arm, looking rather deflated at his rejection. "Fine," Deidara grouched, giving in. "What game?"

"Well..." Sakaria thought for a moment, trying to come up with any game she could relate to this thing called a 'sleepover' she'd heard about so many times but never attended. "We can't play Spin the Bottle cause we don't have a bottle..."

"And there's only two of us," Deidara said, shaking his head at how oblivious she could be.

"... Hmm..." Sakaria thought harder, "What about truth or dare?"

"Alright," Deidara conceded. "You go first. Hm."

"Okay! Truth or dare?"

"Dare," He said flatly, not looking up at her as he tossed more clay between his hungry hands.

"I dare you to let me put your hair in pigtails when we get back home." Sakaria giggled.

"Hey, no way. You can't make dares for future dates. It has to be right here, right now. A true artist lives only in the moment. Hm." He protested, already envisioning the looks he would get from the other akatsuki members. Sakaria pouted slightly and thought hard once more.

"Fine... I dare you to..." She drew out the word "to" in order to buy time as she figured out exactly how she wanted to end her sentence. "show me the worst art piece you've ever done!" She eyed him suspiciously, knowing his arrogant attitude might not allow him to complete the dare, but instead, he dug into his satchel and pulled out a sketch book that was filled with several blank pages save for a drawing that he flipped to and handed to her. Although it was hard to make out, Sakaria eventually managed to decipher the picture and identify it as an attempt at a woman with spider legs outstretched from a floral patterned kimono. "It's a Jorōgumo!" Sakaria announced cheerfully.

Deidara's eyes widened momentarily and a smile snuck across his face. Not one to remain humbled, he quickly scooted over beside her and analyzed the drawing himself. "I've always been more of a sculptor than anything... but, at least you could figure out what she was. Hm." He shrugged, looking up at her. "You know what they say about Jorōgumo, don't you?"

"Sure," Sakaria said, still studying the shaky lines of her companions drawing, "She's a powerful spider that can shape shift into a beautiful woman... and, kind of like a siren, she lures people in and then drags them into her waterfall and drowns them to death." Deidara nodded and pointed to the center of his sketch pad.

"I tried to draw the waterfall behind her, but..." He opened his palm and looked down at the mouth on it as it licked away, expecting more clay. "My hands weren't meant for sketching." He closed his hand, perhaps a little more morosely than originally anticipated, but was pulled from his mood by the sound of the paper being pulled from the rings of his pad. "What are you doing? Hmm?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched Sakaria fold his rough drawing and put it in her weapons holster.

"I like it, so I'm keeping it!" She beamed. "I'll pay you for it if you want!" Deidara shook his head, taking comfort in his friend's admiration, but she pulled out the coin purse from earlier anyway.

"Alright, I have to ask..." He pointed at the gold and black coin purse in her hand before she had a chance to pull out any of her money. "Why do you have that? Hmm?"

"Weren't we playing a game?" Sakaria asked, pretending to suddenly remember. "I uhm.. I think it was your turn!" Her voice was shaky as she set the purse back beside her and put her small pale hand over top it as if to hide it from him.

"Okay... Truth or dare?" Deidara asked.

"Dare!" Sakaria replied hastily, knowing if she picked truth, Deidara would only repeat his question.

"Fine. I dare you to tell me why you have Hidan's coin purse!"

"That isn't fair, Dee!" Sakaria whined, looking down at her hand. "It's really not a big deal, anyway."

"If it's not a big deal, you can tell me." Deidara goaded. He watched in silence while Sakaria let out a hefty sigh as if something was weighing on her chest, before she spoke hesitantly.

"Well... You know Hidan and I were sent out to gather information on the two tails before they captured her... Pain sent me with Hidan because Kakuzu was out on a different mission, and Hidan refused to go with anyone else..." She looked up as Deidara nodded then lowered her head again, "Gathering intel took a little longer than expected so we ended up camping out in a cavern near the Hidden Cloud Village..."


	20. Chapter 20

_****Author's note: MORE MATURE CONTENT AHEAD. Hidan being a general creep. Skip if you don't want to read it! :)****_

"Well, that's just fuckin' great!" Hidan growled, covering his head as heavy rainfall showered over him and his temporary partner. Although the storm was harsh and thunder rolled nearby, the grey haired man made no effort to hastily get into shelter, unlike the black haired Uchiha girl who skittered inside the cavern once she saw it. "Fuckin rains back home all the god damn time, and now it's fuckin rainin' here." When he finally reached the cavern, he looked over at Sakaria who was wringing out her soaked hair and scowled, "I'm blaming this shit on you, kid. I've been out with Kakuzu damn near a thousand times and it hasn't rained once, but take you along and, sure as shit, it's hurricane season!" Sakaria looked up at him, remaining silent. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what to say. The entire mission had been a disaster from the start, and she hadn't really been able to muster up the courage to say a full sentence to Hidan after hearing all the things he was capable of and how devoted to his sadistic religion he was. "Speak, bitch." He commanded, taking off his robe and running his hand through his soaked silver hair.

"I..." She looked back at the ground, trying to think of what Itachi would say in this situation, but nothing came to mind. That was probably because Itachi** wouldn't** have said anything. Determined to get out of her brother's shadow, she furrowed her eyebrows and spoke up, "I don't know what you want me to say." She listened as her voice echoed off the cave walls, sounding almost unfamiliar to herself. Hidan raised an eyebrow at this and smirked slightly as she continued without facing him. "Trust me, I don't want to be out here with you anymore than you want to be out here with me."

"Well, well, well," Hidan said sarcastically as he hung his akatsuki robe on his scythe while it leaned against the cavern wall, "Looks like that pretty little mouth works after all. I wonder what else it does." He said cooly. Sakaria rolled her eyes and took off her robe as well, tossing it on the floor as she sat on a nearby boulder in order to remove her sopping wet shoes.

"Nothing for you," She replied hatefully as she shook the water from her sandals. Hidan laughed.

"You got some nerve talkin to me like we're buddies all of a sudden," the grey haired man replied, walking closer and stopping just before her so that he was towering over Sakaria's petite frame. "Where'd all this attitude come from, small fry? I've been nothing but fuckin' nice to you so far... and that's been a real test for me cause I know Lord Jashin would love an Uchiha sacrifice." He placed his index finger on her chin to raise her face to him, but she swatted him away causing him to erupt into laughter again. "Still though, I gotta admit, I like you more this way. Your feisty little ass turns me on." Sakaria grimaced more to the floor than to him and drew her bare feet closer to her on the rock, trying to cover her chest with her knees as much as possible. Hidan was sure to lean in, feeling his own hot breath ricochet off her face as he spoke, "You scared yet, little girl?"

"No," Sakaria said, standing from her seat on the rock, and gathering some stones nearby to form a fire pit. "I'm afraid of plenty of things, Hidan, but you are not one of them." She stuck her nose in the air a little, hoping to fool him with her arrogant front.

"Hm," Hidan snorted, seating himself on the ground in front of the area Sakaria was building the fire, "Funny." He leered up at her as she used her jutsu to ignite the sticks she had found and sat across from him. After studying her closely for a moment, he stretched and leaned back on his hands. "It's been a while since I've spent the night with a girl. You wanna play seven minutes in heaven or some shit?" He grinned sarcastically.

"As if." Sakaria snarled, poking at the fire without looking at him.

"Aw, c'mon, chick," Hidan almost whined, "You know how fuckin boring it gets hanging out with that sausage fest?" Sakaria looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "What I mean is, there's what, two whole girls in the akatsuki?... three if you count that Deidara bitch, but it's not like I can get off to that. And Konan's so damn high strung, it's not like I'm gettin anywhere with her either. So that leaves..." He rolled his hand as if he were coaxing her to finish his sentence but she simply looked back down at the fire, annoyed. "You know, it ain't like I can't just **make** you help me out." He grinned wickedly causing Sakaria to swallow hard.

"You wouldn't," Sakaria muttered, "Itachi would-"

"Ha! Itachi!? You think I'm scared of some pea brained little twerp like him? Sides, he used your whole family for target practice, why would he care what happened to **you**!?" He scooted closer to her and watched as Sakaria's fists clinched in her lap. "I'm going easy on you, doll. In fact, I'm gonna have to ask Lord Jashin for forgiveness for not tearing you open right now in his name." His arm snaked around her shoulders and he pulled her into him despite her physical protests.

"Please, Hidan..." Sakaria grimaced, still trying to push him away.

"Mmm, that's it. I like it when you beg," He leaned in closely and cooed in her ear, "I'll make you a deal. My religion tells me it isn't virtuous to be greedy..." He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a black and gold coin purse, "And, you know, I'm a very devout follower... I'd like to share the wealth a little..." He opened the small bag revealing a rather large amount of money he'd received as payment for years worth of slaughtering. "But, I'm struggling here, cause my religion also tells me that it's a sin to be a sloth and you should work for what you receive. You get what I'm hintin at, little girl?" He said, dangling the now closed coin purse over his partner's head. He watched as her fight faded and her eyes followed the pouch back and forth like a pendulum as if he were trying to hypnotize her.

"What do you want?" She moused, almost intrigued by his offer, but mostly convincing herself that if she didn't give in to him, it would happen regardless, with or without the incentive or her consent.

"You know what I want," Hidan grinned, his hand snaking down to her waist as he gripped her tightly.

"I..." Sakaria sighed, feeling her chest get heavy, "You just want to get off, right?" She asked, feeling out of her element while she tried to speak in a way he'd understand.

Hidan raised an eyebrow at this. "Well, no shit."

"So... If I help you... do that. I can have all that money?"

"And the bag to go with it," Hidan promised, his eyes flashing eagerly.

"It doesn't matter how I do it?"

"What are you trying to get at, bitch? You gotta work for what you want."

"I know, I just," Sakaria pulled herself to her knees and put one hand on his thigh, causing him to twitch and unfold his legs excitedly. "I think some acts are more valuable than what you're paying." She said, looking down at his lap.

Hidan suddenly understood and sighed, slightly annoyed. "You don't wanna fuck, is that it?" He was never one to beat around the bush and grew impatient when others did.

"Y-Yeah..." Sakaria admitted nervously.

"Alright, let's see what your mouth can do then," Hidan said, quickly freeing himself from his pants and grabbing the back of her head, forcing her face close to his erection. "If you can finish me off this way, I'll give ya the damn money. If it takes ya too long though..." He eyed her up and down, his hand still placed roughly on the back of her head.

"You didn't!" Deidara almost gasped, looking wide eyed at his friend. Sakaria sighed and looked at her lap.

"I mean, it was gross, but if I didn't do that, I would have had to do a lot more I guess," she shrugged. "I got the money and I kept my clothes on so I guess that's probably the best I could expect to come of that."

"Why the hell am I just now hearing about this?" Deidara said, disbelievingly, "I can't believe Itachi didn't blow him to smithereens. He wouldn't even let me talk to you for who knows how long when I first joined the akatsuki, so I know he must've flipped his lid when he heard about that! Hm!"

Sakaria quickly put her hands up to him, trying to shut him up as though her brother could somehow hear, "Itachi doesn't know. You **can't **say anything to him. Promise you won't!" The blond man beside her looked at her puzzled.

"Wait, what do you mean he doesn't know? Hm? Itachi is the whole reason you're not allowed to go out on scouting missions with Hidan anymore, isn't he? Why would he tell Pain not to send you out with him if he didn't know..."

"Part of the deal was, Hidan couldn't tell anyone anything...When I came back from that mission, Itachi asked me a thousand times how things went and I just told him everything was fine..." She sighed and hugged her knees guiltily, "Itachi has always been able to tell when we were lying to him..." She thought back to her childhood with Sasuke and Itachi for a moment then looked back up at Deidara, "We always tried to be truthful with one another, and Itachi really didn't like me keeping things from him, so he just decided to prevent anything that I'd have to hide from happening ever again." Deidara looked at the floor for a moment then put a hand on his friend's shoulder in solidarity.

"I won't tell anyone," He promised, looking over at her seriously. "But what are you going to do if something ever happens to Itachi? Hmm?" He would never say he was planning to be the cause of her elder brother's demise, but it might throw a wrench in his plans if Sakaria wouldn't be safe without him.

She thought hard for a moment as though it hadn't occurred to her before because it hadn't. Suddenly, the harsh reality that Itachi might not be around soon weighed heavily on her, and she wondered what she would do once he was gone. Would she even want to stay in the akatsuki? Would she even want to be alive? Just when she smiled at her artistic friend and started to speak, the moment was quickly brought to an end as the doors to the temple creaked open. Both ninja quickly jumped away and hid behind a pillar that had fallen and cracked into several colossal pieces in the far corner of the sanctuary.


	21. Chapter 21

"When the blonde girl... Ino... tried to use her mind transfer techniques to get intel, I blocked her out with my sharingan," Sakaria sighed, her head beginning to ache as she remembered all of the details to her capture. "But, I honestly didn't put up too much of a fight." Sasuke stared at her, confused until she admitted, "At first, I hoped the leaf would execute me if they captured me... that way I could be with Itachi in the afterlife... but, after a little while, I guess I tried to make life in the village as normal as I could. I knew the love Itachi had for Konaha and I wanted to try to continue his legacy in secret... But, then Suigetsu and Jugo showed up, and I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to see you again. It seemed like a better idea than just wilting away in some place I didn't fit in."

Sasuke wrapped his sister in his arms once more, coming to terms with the things she had to do in order to survive and all the people she had befriended in her past, but not having the heart to tell her he had killed her blond companion. He couldn't help but think how different their lives had been, but he was so glad that, even after everything, they had ended up together again.

Meanwhile, in the background, Suigetsu stood with his arms crossed tensely over his chest as things came together in his head. He thought back to the night he had spent with Sakaria and how experienced she had seemed when she was put on her knees in front of him. _That's why... _He thought, a fire burning in his stomach. Although there was no way he could have done anything for her back then considering he didn't even know her, and nothing he could do about it now that it had happened so long ago, Suigetsu felt a growing need to protect Sakaria.

Once she was released from Sasuke's hold, Sakaria looked around her brother to Suigetsu and noticed him grimacing while deep in thought. Before she could question him on this, Sasuke snapped her back to reality with mention of Orochimaru's name.

"What do you mean? Why the hell would you even consider bringing him back?" Sakaria asked, startled.

"There are still things I can't do on my own," Sasuke reminded, ignoring Suigetsu's manic cries of protest.

After Sasuke argued with him briefly, he went back to ignoring the mist ninja while Suigetsu ranted on. In an attempt to gain some leverage, Suigetsu looked to Sakaria's shoulder and pointed at the curse mark scarred into her skin as Sasuke looked back to the two. "Look, nobody wants to see Orochimaru ever again. Hasn't he caused us all enough trouble!?"

"Shut up, Suigetsu!" Sasuke barked, going back to the collapsed proctor ninja in front of him that he recognized to be Anko. "Please, just go dig out a piece of Kobuto's flesh and bring it to me." The Uchiha man sighed at Suigetsu who opened one eye to fain listening. Suddenly, the white haired man's expression fell flat.

"Huh?" He approached him slightly, annoyed that he would start ordering him around again, "You don't listen to me, but for some reason you expect me to listen to you?"

Sakaria turned back to Kobuto who looked a lot like a gargoyle in his current state and shivered. "And it's not like you're asking him for a lock of hair. You want us to carve something out of this guy and just hand it to you?"

Suigetsu looked back at Sakaria, almost agreeing. Being ninja, it wasn't like they were never exposed to blood or inflicting wounds, but something did seem off about carving something out of someone while they were completely unaware. In that moment, Jugo, who had been his usual stoic nature until now, interrupted, "Fine, I'll do it." He started to approach Kobuto as Suigetsu sighed and held his head.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" He looked up at his partner, "Are you really sure about all this, Jugo? You want Orochimaru to return?"

"I don't mind. Sasuke's will is Kimmimaro's will...I will abide by it." The other three watched as Jugo's hand shifted into an all too familiar demonic looking state and dug into Kobuto's chest, pulling a chunk of flesh from it and molding it into a round mass. After he took the mass to Anko's body and morphed the two together, Sasuke, Jugo, and Sakaria watched intently, unsure what to expect as Suigetsu hid behind Kobuto's statuesque body.

When Orochimaru slithered back to life, Sakaria looked to Sasuke as Orochimaru hissed out in an evil, humming tone, "Aww, look at this. The little Uchiha found her big brother after all... It's too bad. You would have been the easiest one to take had Itachi not sealed that mark on your arm and kept you hidden from me for so long. You know, these curse marks... They're like pieces of my own consciousness but, somehow, your eldest brother managed to keep me from connecting to yours, Sakaria." Sakaria shifted uneasily, holding the black pattern on her arm.

"Then you know about the war..?" Suigetsu managed to mutter, still shielding himself behind Kobuto but intent on changing the subject away from Sakaria.

"Yes, of course... and I just have one thing to tell you about that, Suigetsu." The snake sanin said, looking into his former captive's direction and striking fear into him, "And that is, I have no interest in this war at all... I mean, it is someone else's war. The only thing I'm interested now," he turned to Sasuke, leering at him, "Is your body... Yes that's right, my dear Sasuke... Then again, it's not as if I currently have the strength to steal it from you." Sasuke stared at him solemnly, unfazed by his lackadaisical threats and held the scroll Suigetsu had brought to him out.


	22. Chapter 22

"She chose her own path, Shikamaru," Ino reminded her friend as they ran side by side in formation. The war had been raging for some time now and the entire shinobi world was intent on stopping the ten tails from destroying humanity, but, even with Naruto and his nine tails chakra, it was proving to be impossible. However, even with all of this going on, Shikamaru was still sidetracked by Sakaria. "Besides, I'm sure wherever she is, she's fine... unless that white haired freak she was with shredded her up." She mumbled the last part to herself, hoping her partner couldn't hear. In truth, Ino was more than angry at Sakaria after they had spent time and manpower going to get her and she not only refused to come home, but attacked her team.

"It's not that," Shikamaru rasped, rolling his eyes. He wanted to continue, but he couldn't find the words. "I just want to get this over with, okay?" Ino lowered her brow in concern, but turned back toward the direction they were running.

"It's going to be fine," Shikamaru said, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand and smiling at the raven haired girl in front of him while she frantically combed her freshly curled hair over her shoulders.

"What if they don't like me..." Sakaria muttered looking at her feet. "I mean, no one else in the village really-"

"My parents aren't like that... especially not my dad," the man continued, still smiling sweetly. Since Sakaria's apartment was under renovation due to a busted pipe, Shikamaru had offered for her to stay with him at his parents' home. This would be the first time Sakaria had stayed there without sneaking out before his parents knew she was there and the first time Sakaria would actually meet his mother and father face to face. "Besides, it's either this, or you go without a shower for the next week."

Sakaria sighed and hung her head, her stomach turning. "I'm not exactly the greatest with parents," she added, standing and biting the edge of her thumb nail. "I didn't even really impress my parents before they..." She stopped herself and sighed, dissociating from her current situation as she thought back on her own mom and dad.

"Hey," Shikamaru's voice brought her back instantaneously, and she snapped her eyes over to meet his. He walked up to her and put his reassuring hand on her shoulder in the same way he always had. "You worry too much." His companion straightened herself and trailed slightly behind Shikamaru.

"Mom, Dad!" Shikamaru called, heading inside and kicking off his shoes while Sakaria did the same. "I'm back!"

"Did you bring that girl with you?" A harsh voice called from the kitchen. Sakaria swallowed hard and looked up at the Nara boy, unmoving from the doorway. Shikamaru shook his head and grabbed her hand, heading into the kitchen.

"She's not 'some girl,' ma," Shikamaru sighed, turning into the doorframe of the kitchen, Sakaria still standing shakily behind him. "She's got a name."

"Well?" His mother turned, eying her son with her dark brown eyes.

"Sakaria," Shikaku, Shikamaru's father chimed in, "We've heard so much about you." He set his newspaper down on the table in front of him, and smiled warmly at the small Uchiha girl hidden behind his son. The look reminded Sakaria of the time she and Sasuke tried to coax a frightened kitten from a drain pipe when they were younger, and the result was the same. She nervously stepped from behind Shikamaru and bowed slightly, her pale arms crossed in front of her.

"G-Good things, I hope," Sakaria stammered, "It's nice to meet you, sir..." She bowed reluctantly toward the matron in the room, "ma'am."

"All good things," the clan head reassured, taking a sip of his tea.

"Shikamaru never shuts up about you," his mother griped, wiping her hands on a dish rag.

"Yoshino," Shikaku sighed, closing his eyes in frustration. "Sakaria, please, take a seat."

"Oh, thank you," she mumbled, kneeling at the table with Shikaku. Shikamaru followed shortly after and took the seat on the other side of her.

"Shikamaru tells me your apartment is under construction."

"Y-Yes, sir. I think a pipe busted. The entire building has been without water for a few days now, and it's hard to sleep when they start working so early in the day."

"A few days?" Yoshino said unpleasantly, "How have you been showering?" Her voice sounded much more cruel than she intended.

"Mom!" Shikamaru growled, annoyed.

"No, it's okay," Sakaria moused, gaining her confidence, "Ino has actually let me use her shower a couple of times since the construction started."

"Hm," Shikaku smirked at her, setting his cup on the table, "Ino comes off as sort of crass and volatile, but she's a pretty helpful girl." His eyes trailed back to his wife as she started drying the dishes she had been washing prior to their arrival. "Sounds familiar."

"So, why couldn't you stay at Ino's house, then?" Yoshino asked, ignoring her husband's jeering and focusing on her cup.

"Oh, I..." Sakaria looked into her lap, searching for answers.

"Ino's parents don't have a guest bed for Sakaria to stay in," Shikamaru interrupted, "And anyway, Ino didn't invite her to stay. I did." He looked over at Sakaria and smiled which caused his mother to take note of this from her peripheral vision.

"Well, I don't want any funny business going on in my house," Yoshino said, cutting her eyes to the two.

"Mom!"

"Oh, of course not, ma'am I would neve-"

"Yoshino, there's no need to embarrass them. Leave them be." A silence rushed over the house, the only noise remaining was the clink of glasses as Shikamaru's mother set them side by side on the drying mat. "So, Sakaria," Shikaku continued, "Shikamaru tells me you're getting quite used to being back home."

Sakaria looked down, a sadness filling her eyes as she fiddled with her hands while they rested in her lap. "Yes, sir." She mumbled, "I missed the village... and it was nice to see my..." her words caught in her throat as she attempted to find what exactly she should say without causing herself to cry. She would love to say 'it was nice to see my parents,' or even 'it was nice to see my house,' but it wasn't. Everything was gone. While these thoughts rushed through her head, she managed to finish her sentence with a bittersweet, "my clan's crest..." Shikaku raised an eyebrow at this, not understanding until she continued, "It's nice to see that it's still on the police station."

Shikaku nodded, realization flooding over him. He wasn't sure what to say at this point, but, to his surprise his wife chimed in.

"You can actually still have your clan's symbol put on your clothes at a shop nearby." At this point, Yoshino's hard exterior had melted away, and when Sakaria looked at her, she was reminded of her own mother. "I'll show you tomorrow, if you'd like. The lady who works there is a close friend of mine. Maybe we could get her to make you a few new outfits." Shikamaru looked up at his mom in rare form, then over to his friend who was on the verge of tears although she was smiling.

"I'd like that," Sakaria said, blinking the tears away from her eyes. "I'd really like that."

After some time sitting in silence, Shikamaru stood and stretched lazily. "Well, I'm gonna show Sakaria where she's staying." He offered his hand down to his black haired friend and smiled as she took it. They walked down the hallway that Sakaria could almost remember stumbling through when she was drunk all those nights ago, and came to a door near Shikamaru's room. After opening the door and leading her in, the brown haired boy turned with his arms out, showing off the plain guest room in a show of sarcastic grandiosity. "Here we are. Casa de Sakaria." He joked as Sakaria walked over and sat on the bed. "There's no nightlight in here, but..." He leaned in and whispered, "You can sneak into my room if you get too scared, okay?" Sakaria blushed, slightly embarrassed as her companion talked to her as though she were a child. Shikamaru stood straight again and raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

"You're really lucky, ya know," Sakaria mumbled, looking down to the blankets below her.

Shikamaru sat beside her, trying to catch her gaze again so she would look up at him but she didn't. "It's okay here. I mean, I definitely don't plan on living here forever bu-"

"Not the house... I mean..." Sakaria sighed, moving her thumb over the comforter gently. "Your parents are really nice." She finally looked up, a painfully fake smile crossing her face.

Shikamaru reluctantly reached up and took her cheek in his palm, ensuring she would continue looking at him and searching her face for any sign that she might start crying. He then pulled her into his chest and held her close to him. "Just because they're gone, doesn't mean you don't have parents too, Sakaria." He sighed and planted a light kiss on the top of her head. "and you still have a family... with all of us here." He pulled away and looked as Sakaria's faux smile faded to a look of curiosity and he beamed at her, "My dad always says girls are troublesome... but I don't think he'd mind having one more in the family." Sakaria erupted into laughter at this, almost shocked that Shikamaru could be so genuine and kind. He was truly the most accepting person she had met since returning to the village and now she knew why. His parents... his father especially, had taught him to be that way. The pair laughed and Shikamaru ended the moment, by throwing himself on the guest bed. "Anyway, I think it's time for a nap." Sakaria raised an eyebrow at this, ready to interject that he had his own bed to nap in, but by the time she had found the words, her ponytailed companion had already drifted off, his hands draped carelessly behind his head.


	23. Chapter 23

"**Hey!** Snap out of it!" Shikamaru noticed Choji's voice after snapping out of his daydream just in time to jump out of the way of one of their opponent's tails as they swung wildly around, knocking out many of his comrades. He snarled slightly, annoyed with himself for getting so sidetracked, and by a girl no less.

"Thanks, Choji." Come on. Get your head out of the clouds. You need to come up with a strategy to get rid of this thing before- Just as he started to focus, his father's voice interrupted his thoughts. Speaking to him from headquarters, Shikaku informed his son of an impeding strategy, and their impending deaths. A look of shock was replaced with pain as he heard his father speak, telling him that if his plan didn't work, he and Ino would inevitably have to take over the reins as the brain of the ninja alliance.

When he opened his eyes, he saw his blonde haired teammate, frozen in shock before him. The world seemed to go quiet as a purple mass shot over them like a comet and illuminated the sky when it struck the building that served as a base for headquarters. The silence was broken by Choji, who could find no words other than his best friend's name. "Shikamaru..."

"We're in the middle of a war," Shikamaru growled, still attempting to bury the pain from suddenly losing his father, "So, don't waste any words on me...** or** on Ino." He watched as Ino wiped the tears from her eyes and straightened herself, seemingly ready to fight again. "We have to do what we have to do... just like Dad said."

After painfully swallowing their grief, Team ten assumed formation, ready to initiate their predecessors' plan while Inoichi and Shikaku's words rang through their heads.

_"Never forget that we live on inside of you... forever."_

_"Don't forget."_

"Now then, Sasuke... What next?" Sasuke stood, his head flooded with memories of his older brother after listening to the past Hokage's explanation of Konaha's history with the Uchiha clan. It took him a moment to answer Orochimaru's question, but he eventually looked down at his younger sister then back to Hashirama who was seated in front of him like a true storyteller.

"I'm going to head to the battle field." Sasuke finally spoke, causing Sakaria to smile wide. "I won't let the village and Itachi become nothing."

Sakaria's smile was joined with Hashirama's as he stood, "It's decided! Tobirama, prepare to fly us outside."

"I'd love to use flying raijin, but I'm bound right now." Tobirama responded. His brother, suddenly remembering the person who'd resurrected them, turned to face the group before him again.

"Orochimaru was it? What will you do now?"

"I believe you said earlier you'd stay with Sasuke, didn't you?" Sarutobi spoke to his former pupil, hoping that he would stay true to his word for once.

"Of course. We shall accompany him," Orochimaru confirmed. Despite his soothing tone, Suigetsu, who had been standing by listening just as the rest of his group had, objected fearfully.

"Jugo! Are y-"

"I'll go with them too. After all, it's my duty to protect Sasuke," Jugo interrupted, looking down at his squeamish friend.

Suigetsu's words caught in his throat as he looked over at Sakaria who was still standing faithfully by her brother, a look of admiration in her eyes. An unconvincing grin crossed his face. _Four mighty zombies and three monsters!? If I tag along, I'm gonna die for sure...I'm making a break for it when I get the chance. _

After their small regime was teleported outside, they stood at the top of the stone faces, looking over Konaha. While the Hokage all reminisced about their time in the village, Suigetsu seized the moment to tug at Sakaria's hand. She turned to him, her black eyes curious while her friend inched his way further from the group. "Suigetsu?" She questioned, not pulling her hand away from him.

"C'mon, Fireball, let's get outta here. Now's our chance!" He goaded, attempting to pull her toward him. Sakaria stood still like a stubborn mule and retracted her small, pale hand.

"No way, Suigetsu! I'm going with Sasuke!" She whispered harshly, glaring at him for even making such a suggestion. "If you don't wanna help, then fine! Get outta here you coward!" Suigetsu felt the sting of her insult and sighed, not really wanting to leave her to die.

"C'mon. I think they've got this handled. Between the four Hokage, Orochimaru, Jugo, and your crazy brother, we'll just be pawns. In the way. Let's make a break for it before we get killed!" Sakaria thought about it for a moment, then swallowed the fear manifesting inside of her.

"I'm **staying** with Sasuke," She repeated as she turned back to her brother. She didn't even bother telling her companion goodbye.

Suigetsu snarled a little then turned, attempting to run away as fast as he could. _It's now or never! _Just as he thought he'd made his getaway, a foot crashed down on his head, causing him to fall to the ground although the blow was sustained by his water transformation jutsu. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

In an instant, his old teammate was crouched over him, taking her anger out on his chest as she screamed, "SO IT REALLY WAS YOU, SASUKE! I SENSED YOUR CHAKRA AND I COULDN'T HARDLY BELIEVE IT TIL I SHOWED UP HERE AND WHAT DO I FIND!?" She landed one final blow at Suigetsu, slamming both fists down on his chest with a splash.

"Karin," Sasuke said, turning toward the redhead in a show of slight surprise.

"My, my. So many of my best experiments all together in one place," Orochimaru purred with a smug smile on his face.

Sakaria stood firmly beside Sasuke, not saying anything. She recognized the girl beating up her runaway friend from when she had been brought to Konoha on the brink of death. "So, **that's** Karin," She mumbled, her eyes not leaving the red haired barbarian who was huffing for breath after her shrieking entrance._ Suigetsu was right, she __**is **__annoying... Why would she attack Suigetsu but yell at Sasuke?... Even still though, serves him right for trying to chicken out. _The Uchiha girl thought.

"JERK! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Karin shouted upon standing, stomping her foot into Suigetsu's unmoving torso.

"I'm sorry, Karin," Sasuke apologized simply. Sakaria looked up at him and noted the lack of regret or empathy in his voice.

"BASTARD! YOU THINK... an apology... will get you off the hook for...what... you... did... to... me..." Her voice lessened to a squeak as she struggled to stay angry. "Good for nothing..." A blush crept over the redhead's face as she stared at the Uchiha man.

"I see you still have a weakness for Sasuke, Karin," Orochimaru teased.

In an instant, Karin was inches away from them, pointing her finger indignantly in her master's face. "Just listen, Lord Orochimaru," she demanded harshly, "Sasuke had the nerve to stab me! Do you believe that!?" She whined. Sakaria couldn't help but think she sounded like a child, running to tattle to her father because someone wasn't playing nicely.

"Me too, dear. Quite a coincidence," Orochimaru teased, smiling. "But now I'm cooperating with Sasuke. This is perfect... You can come help us too."

"Whaaaat..." Karin quickly melted toward her black haired love interest and leaned against his chest affectionately, "Well, I guess I have no choice." She erupted into a series of giggles until Sakaria spoke up.

"Does she always change her tune this quickly?" The Uchiha girl finally asked, raising an eyebrow at her older brother who was busy attempting not to fall over from Karin's affectionate gestures which he was not returning.

Suddenly, a dark glint came over the redhead's glasses, and she eyed Sakaria up and down with a suspicious anger. "HEY WAIT A MINUTE! JUST WHO IS THIS! I'M GONE FOR JUST A MOMENT AND YOU RUN OFF AND FIND A NEW GIRL HUH!? WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS ONE!? YOU THINK SHE'S BETTER THAN ME, HUH!? IS THAT IT!?"

"Even if that was the case, I couldn't blame him since you never seem to stop shrieking," Sakaria replied, cooly crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at Karin with annoyance.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME! JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? I'LL KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE GOODY TWO SHOES BIT-" Karin, who had started to charge at Sakaria, was quickly cut off by her opponent as she kicked her in her mouth. After flying a few feet through the air, she landed on her back, confused as to what had just happened. She then sat up to look at Sakaria, who was still standing in the same place she had been before.

"Sasuke, I didn't know you were so bad with a sword," she teased, looking at her brother.

"Hm?" Sasuke questioned, raising an eyebrow back to her.

"Well, you'd have to have pretty shitty swordsmanship if you got the chance to stab this thing and it's still alive." Sasuke suppressed a laugh while Karin hopped back to her feet and pointed at the girl.

"NOW LISTEN HERE YO-"

"That's enough, Karin," Sasuke reprimanded. "You don't have to like her, but you do have to respect her. Now... let's get moving."

_Respect her!? She sure as hell isn't acting very respectful to me!_ Karin thought, pouting like a child.

"Hey, Suigetsu!" Sakaria shouted as Suigetsu laid still on the ground in a gelatinous puddle, "Quit being a guppy and let's go!"

Suigetsu sighed and looked on as Karin rejoined their group indignantly. _Four mighty zombies, three monsters, and now an idiot. I bet Madara'll be shocked too. _Soon after that thought went through his head, he looked up to see Sakaria knelt beside him, smiling. He hadn't seen such pure joy cross her face before now, and he knew it must have been because she was finally reunited with her brother. Still, something was pulling him to follow her, even if it meant dying in the process. He couldn't let her go to war without being beside her. "You sure you wanna go on this suicide mission?" Suigetsu sighed in a last ditch effort to convince her to abandon the idea although he knew it wouldn't work.

"Who's afraid of the unknown now?" Sakaria beamed, reaching her hand out. Suigetsu solidified himself, then took her hand and stood up, an unsure grimace crossing his face as he scratched the back of his neck.

"You really are a huge pain in my ass, ya know that?" He murmured. _I can't believe I'm marching off to slaughter for this girl... Did she put me in some kind of genjutsu? I really must've lost it_. His thoughts were interrupted when Sakaria leaned in a kissed his cheek.

"Don't run off on me, now." Sakaria said, using the words he had said to her before to mock him playfully. Suigetsu, much to his surprise, felt an unfamiliar heat rise up in his face while his stomach knotted up. He looked away from her only for a moment before bringing his hand back to her shoulder and running his thumb over the bite mark he had placed on her which was still hidden by her hair.

"Let's get going, girlie, before I change my mind." The two exchanged a genuine smile with one another, happy to have had even a small moment to themselves before they went to battle.

Several yards away, however, Sasuke stood, peering over his shoulder at his sister. His protective nature caused him to snarl slightly at the encounter he was witnessing, but he turned, trying to focus on the battle at hand, and not the one being waged in his head.

_If the war doesn't kill him, I just might..._


	24. Chapter 24

When it was decided that Orochimaru would take Suigetsu and Karin to help him aid Tsunade and the rest of the kage, Suigetsu grabbed Sakaria and pulled her flush to him, her back against his chest. He was not prepared to let her go into battle without him.

"You won't be any help out there anyway," the mist shinobi said as he leaned into her ear, his grip on her shoulders almost cutting off circulation to her arms. "You can help us with the kage and we'll catch back up to Sasuke later." Sakaria, half convinced, looked back over to Sasuke who was going over some semblance of an action plan with the former Hokage and Jugo.

When he felt his sister's eyes on him, he turned to her and nodded her over, "Sakaria, you'll be coming with me." With a certainty in his voice, he stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to move. When Sakaria pulled away from Suigetsu with no questions asked, he growled and mustered as much courage as he could to speak out against Sasuke's decision.

"Sasuke, she isn't ready. You can't just throw her to the wolves!"

"I didn't know **you** knew what was best for her," Sasuke said, his voice disparaging and harsh. "She won't be going anywhere with Orochimaru on her own." He looked to Sakaria as she stood between the two. "Let's go."

Just when Suigetsu went to argue that she wouldn't be alone if he was with her, the snake sage spoke instead. "Now, Sasuke," Orochimaru purred, pretending to feel hurt by his comment, "How is it that you don't trust me after all I've done to prove my loyalty?" He chuckled as Sakaria took another step toward her brother.

"I'm not taking any chances," Sasuke snarled, his voice growing louder to get his point across, "Sakaria. **Let's**. **Go**."

His short tone caused his sister to furrow her brow at him. Who did he think he was ordering her around like a child? His "when I say jump" demeanor bore an uncanny resemblance to their father's, and it caused her to want to rebel even if what he was saying was in her best interest. Despite this, she walked over to him, looked back at Suigetsu, and shrugged a little trying to seem nonchalant about following her brother's command. "I'll see you soon, waterboy!" She giggled, waving a little. With that, and a few shouts of protest from Karin about how unfair it was that Sakaria got to stay with Sasuke and she didn't, they vanished, heading off into battle.

It seemed they arrived just in time. The war, of course, had been waging for quite some time already, and battle conditions seemed to be coming to a rather disastrous head. Thankfully, Minato successfully transported an attack by the large enemy in front of them just before it devastated the allied Shinobi force. In order to better assess the situation, Sasuke told Sakaria to stay with Jugo until he said otherwise, and she begrudgingly followed orders. _Why do I feel like he's pawning me off with a babysitter?_ Sakaria looked up at Jugo who returned her gaze solemnly. "Don't worry, you're safe with me." The raven haired girl glared and turned her attention back to Sasuke as his former teammates all greeted him with shock but, ultimately, thankful faces.

_If Sasuke is here, then..._ Shikamaru looked around to see if he could find Sakaria, and when his eyes landed on the small Uchiha, he seemed to lose focus for only a second. She hadn't spotted him yet, her dark eyes still fixated on her elder brother as he sized up their opponent, but Shikamaru was glad to see her on their side without that troublesome companion of hers in the way. It was when Ino piped up telling Team Ten to flaunt their Ino-Shika-Cho combination, that he doubled down and was ready to show off.

All at once it seemed, the beast in front of them split into several new enemies, guarding the main body from any attack that Hashirama could lead after he'd pinned it to the ground with his jutsu. To combat this, the trio pulled off a move they'd been practicing for quite some time; the human boulder yo-yo. They took out twenty five enemies immediately, then Choji grinned down at his teammates. "I'm going to expand even more! Can you handle more weight?"

"Yeah, you're still light," Shikamaru rasped back, "And besides, this isn't quite flashy enough to impress." His eyes cut over to Sakaria, and he smirked when he noticed her staring at his team.

"What!? Who's being super competitive now!?" Ino shrieked, her hand still on Shikamaru's head. Though the two were connected, she still hadn't noticed Sakaria standing in the background of the madness with her large red haired companion. Even without understanding Shikamaru's uncharacteristic ambition, she focused again and attacked with her team, taking out several more of the sand colored fissures before them.

In an instant, Sakaria's attention was drawn away when she noticed a black and white beast flying through the sky toward the main threat. For a moment, she thought of Deidara, but after realizing it wasn't him, she watched as the shinobi riding the inked beast was shot down and attacked by several sand senbon. Sakaria cringed as though she were bracing herself for his impact, but Naruto caught him in an instant, pulling him to safety. With her heart in her throat, Sakaria thought,_ I hate being on the sidelines like this... if I was out there I could-_

Her train of thought was derailed when she watched Sasuke and his teammates summon three large beasts. Standing on the top of a large frog, a slug, and a snake, team seven seemed ready for a new battle formation, and the youngest Uchiha stood in awe of her brother, slightly jealous that he could pull off a summoning like that._ Sasuke... he's... amazing. _

When the trio took off, a large gust of wind followed in their wake sending Sakaria's hair flying in a whirlwind behind her along with Jugo's makeshift robe. She covered her eyes from debris with her forearm, still trying to look onward to notice the shinobi who Naruto had snatched from the sky receiving the brunt of the gale force. She thought for only a moment then Sakaria seemed to disappear in the midst of the wind. She was back before Jugo could protest her absence._ How did she...? _Jugo looked over to the Uchiha girl as the air around them settled and she nodded in the direction of the shinobi she'd assisted.

"Thank you," the pale man said, straightening himself. Just after standing a large slug crept up his shoulder and nuzzled the side of his face causing the cuts he had received from the beast's senbon to disappear. Sakaria turned her attention for a moment to Sakura who was atop the larger form of the slug and glared. She hadn't particularly given the pink haired girl much thought, but had always seen her as weak and sort of useless as far as battle went. To see her healing their allies in such large numbers, was more than annoying.

_Even Sakura is helping out. Why do I feel so... _

"It's **useless**, I'm **never** gonna get this stupid move!" A young Sakaria yelped after falling from a rather high tree branch. If her shortness of breath and the small scrapes and bruises from failing so often didn't make it apparent, she was exhausted and frustrated.

"You're right!" A voice came from above her. In the blink of an eye, the person speaking was in front of her, holding his hand out to help her up. "You're never gonna get it if you quit trying."

"Shisui, it isn't fair!" The girl whined, taking her elder's hand and standing, "You can do it so easy!"

"**Practice**," Shisui replied with a laugh, annunciating the word as if it was new to her. "You'll be able to do it like me in no time. Now, try again."

With a new found determination, Sakaria stood tall and took in a deep breath. After making a quick hand sign, she disappeared, almost instantaneously, and Shisui watched with his Sharingan to see the movements that someone without their kekkei genkai wouldn't be able to. When Sakaria faltered, he moved faster than she was able to and caught her before she could hurt herself again. The little girl in his arms let out a frustrated groan causing him to smile while he set her feet on the ground.

"You were actually really close that time... The problem is, you're not paying attention to your footing." In a show of demonstration, Shisui seemingly vanished then appeared on a branch far above Sakaria's head.

"I know, I know," She groused up at him. "You've shown me a thousand times! I can't see exactly what you're doing though because I don't have my stupid sharingan yet." Crossing her arms, the ebony haired girl started pouting, wondering when she would awaken her clan's signature dojutsu.

"Hmmm..." The Uchiha boy put a finger to his chin, seemingly deep in thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "That's it!" He appeared beside her again, taking her hand in his. "You can't see, but I can help. Try again, one more time."

Confused, Sakaria raised her free hand and formed her hand sign, vanishing in an instant once more, but this time, Shisui was beside her. When he saw her almost lose her footing on the tree limb, he nudged her calf slightly to ensure the flat part of her shoe gripped the top of it. Sakaria, who had closed her eyes in an effort to brace herself for the fall she was sure was going to occur, opened them warily then looked down at her feet, safe on the branch that was rested several yards away from where they'd previously been standing. "I did it!" She yelled out proudly. The excitement caused her to bounce slightly, and her celebration was cut short when she, again, lost her footing and fell to the ground below, causing Shisui to let out a loud laugh.

After their training session, Shisui sat with Sakaria on a log they'd found in the forest. He reached into the bag he'd brought and held out a bag of chips for them to share. As Sakaria munched away, still riding the high of her accomplishment, Shisui watched her, feeling pride well up within himself. "You did good out there," he reminded, smiling, "before you know it, they'll be calling **you** the body flicker master."

Sakaria grinned back at him after swallowing the mouthful of chips, but it seemed to fade a little, causing her mentor to cock his head. "It'd be nice if **anybody** called me **anything**." She moused, looking away from the brunette Uchiha man. After the sudden realization of what she meant went away, he smirked confidently again.

"Eventually, everyone will recognize you. You're gonna be a top-notch kunoichi one of these days."

There was a moment of silence, as if Sakaria was trying to envision the future that he was trying to paint for her but couldn't, then she spoke again. "Shisui..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think... Do you think my mom and dad didn't want me?" The question was quiet but deliberate. Shisui felt a pang of sympathy for the little girl and was unsure of what he could say without patronizing her. He decided to simply tell her the truth... or at least as much as he could without reneging on his understanding with Itachi.

"I don't think that at all," He placed a consoling hand on her shoulder and smiled again, "I think your parents love you very much... but I also think that sometimes adults do things and they can't really tell their kids about it until they get older, ya know?" Sakaria's face seemed to twist in irritation at this and she shoved his hand from her, obviously tired of the "we'll tell you when you're older" line, but it only caused Shisui to grin wider at her stubbornness. "I know that doesn't help, cause you're a smart girl... You probably think you're ready to know everything there is to know about the world."

"Because I am!" She shouted in protest, crossing her arms over her chest again.

Shisui chuckled and looked off into the distance as if every answer to the questions she had were somewhere in the forest. "Sometimes... even when it doesn't seem fair and even when it doesn't make things easy... we don't learn things until we're ready." He caught her attention with this and she seemed to drop her guard a little in order to listen to what he was saying. For once, someone was talking to her about the questions she had. He wasn't writing them off as trivial concerns. He wasn't treating her like she was too little. He was **talking **in a way that might not answer her, but would at least help her make more sense of her own uncertainties. "Kinda like with your sharingan!" Though his metaphor made perfect sense in his own head, Sakaria tilted her head at this, seemingly confused. "It would be a lot easier to master the body flicker technique I'm teaching you if you'd already activated your sharingan... but you haven't yet. Every Uchiha awakens their sharingan in their own time, and it just isn't your time yet..." Shisui set the bag of chips he was holding on the ground, stood, and, like a flash of light, disappeared and reappeared in the blink of an eye, this time holding a budding flower in his hand from one of the trees nearby. "All we can do is work with the skills you already posses... and then, when you do have your sharingan, it'll be that much easier for you." He handed the bud to Sakaria, who held it in her hand and watched as it opened with the help of Shisui's chakra no doubt.

"So... I just have to keep working to be the best ninja I can be... and then eventually everything will just fall together?" Sakaria asked, gazing down at the pink flower that had blossomed in her palms.

"You get it," Shisui confirmed. There was a moment of quiet and Shisui sat beside her again, ready to answer the questions that were sure to follow. The kind of validation he always seemed to offer was one of the reasons she was glad Shisui guessed who she was early on. After discovering her relation to his best friend, and practically tormenting Itachi until he admitted it, Shisui promised their parents he wouldn't say anything to anyone and even offered to keep an eye on her whenever need be.

Though he was trustworthy, Shisui had decided to leave out the minor detail that he'd taken the youngest Uchiha under his wing and started teaching her ninjutsu- it was bad enough that when he told Itachi, he uncharacteristically went into a panic. He knew their parents would be furious if they ever found out, and that was why the three had made a promise not to mention it to anyone. This pact that they had was something that was top secret and all theirs -not even Sasuke knew- and it was exactly why the youngest of the Uchiha knew she could talk to Shisui about anything.

"But... Shisui... How am I supposed to be... **anybody** if nobody knows I exist?" Sakaria asked, looking up from her cupped hands.

"If I know anything about this world, it's that things don't ever stay the same way. Change occurs in the best... and sometimes in the worst ways." He looked up, gazing out at the tree line again, suddenly feeling pensive as he thought about the future of their clan.

Sakaria, however, found hope in his statement and beamed up at him. "Do you think that the kids in the village will like me?" She asked, feeling electrified by her own curiosity and excitement.

Shisui chuckled again and wiped his hand under his nose in an effort to look as though he hadn't just been deep in thought, "Heh, you're a lot like Itachi, you know?" Sakaria furrowed her brow in confusion until he continued, "You're both pretty strange... but one of these days, you're going to find someone who accepts you for that and who will never betray you."

"Like you and big brother!" Sakaria announced cheerfully, suddenly glad Itachi had a friend like Shisui.

"Yeah, of course!"

As if on cue, Itachi emerged from the brush in the forest to find Sakaria and his best friend sitting side by side on the fallen piece of wood. He immediately noticed how battered his little sister appeared and walked to her side, trying to mask his concern. "You're awfully scraped up."

"We were training!" Sakaria beamed up at him proudly, her voice toned down in order to keep their secret. Her brother, still stoic, knelt beside her and took her hand in his, causing her to drop the flower Shisui had given her in order to inspect her superficial wounds.

"Shisui..." Itachi looked up from his sister's arm and his friend immediately noticed his worry.

"She's alright, Itachi. You worry too much." Shisui said, rustling the little girl's hair.

"Yeah! And watch **this** Itachi!" Sakaria stood, ready to show off, then instantaneously appeared in the tree tops several yards away. After wobbling on the branch a little, but regaining her footing, she stuck out her thumb and grinned at them as they stood on the ground. Although Shisui was much better at hiding his tension, both men had readied themselves to catch her in a moments notice as soon as she vanished, but when they realized she had almost perfectly completed the jutsu, the elder of the two let out a cheer.

"**That's **my girl!" Itachi looked over at Shisui as he shouted his praises, then directed his gaze back to his sister.

"Shisui, I worry that if she learns too much she might land herself in a situation where she is unmatched..."

Shisui, sure to speak softly so the returning Uchiha wouldn't hear, turned to his companion. "She wants to learn, Itachi... and there's nothing wrong with her having a little confidence in herself... besides, if I'm going to teach her anything, wouldn't you prefer that she learn something that could ultimately get her **away **from danger?"

"Well... Yes, but-"

"Big brother! Watch!" Itachi turned his attention back to his sister, who flashed away. After a second passed and he couldn't find her, a look of pure fear crossed his face as his eyes scanned the forest back and forth. Still not seeing her, he activated his sharingan, relieved when her aura appeared and she finally popped up from under a pile of leaves. "Oops!" The girl giggled, smiling brightly at her brother, who was still tense but impressed that she'd managed to appear under the brush pile without making any sort of sound, even if it was purely accidental.

"She's very headstrong, Shisui," Itachi continued, keeping his eyes on his sister as she crawled from the leaf pile, plucking some of the foliage from her long black hair. "I don't want that to develop into recklessness."

"It's a good thing she has her brother's intelligence, then, isn't it?" Shisui said, patting his friend on the back while his trainee ran up to them and jumped in her brother's arms. Itachi picked her up and hugged her tight, silently thankful she was safe.

"What do you think Itachi!? Shisui says one day I'll be a master!" Sakaria bragged leaning back in Itachi's hold so she could study his face.

"Hn." Itachi smirked with closed eyes, "Perhaps one day... but, before that, we should get you home. 'Masters' need their dinner." He set Sakaria on the ground so she could hug Shisui and thank him for the time he'd spent training her, then grabbed her hand and set off in the direction of their house, leaving his friend to pick up the blossom that Sakaria had been holding from the ground. After sitting back down on the log the two had rested on, he set the flower beside him as a sort of placeholder for his pupil, then peacefully looked out to the sky beyond the tree line as it turned a brilliant shade of orange and the sun set over the forest.


	25. Chapter 25

"You heard what Sasuke said earlier, didn't you?" Sakaria was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts by the ninja she had pulled from the frontlines moments before as he spoke to Jugo. "What are his true intentions?"

Jugo seemed to turn to the man only for a moment before turning again and looking at Sasuke who was off in the distance on his summons. He seemed to think hard before answering as if he didn't want to speak ill of his leader. "I have no idea."

In an instant, the pale ninja jumped forward again and landed on the back of Sakura's summons, "Sakura… can I ask you something?" When the pink haired girl didn't turn to answer, he continued. "Since I don't know him very well, I can look at this objectively. Sasuke can not be trusted as a true comrade." Hearing this, Sakaria snarled at him from below, but Jugo stuck out his arm to keep her from rushing forward and confronting him. "What are your true feelings on the matter, Sakura?"

Sakura didn't turn completely, but her disingenuous smile could still be seen from over her shoulder. "Don't worry. Sasuke has come back to us. I'm happy about that… and I do trust him." Her words sounded scripted, and they caused the man speaking to her to lower his head. Although she might believe the things she was saying, her fraudulent smile was enough to tell him that she had her own concerns.

A few feet away, Shikamaru watched as the conversation between the two took place, and Ino could feel a slight skepticism overtake his thoughts. "Shikamaru, what's up?"

The ponytailed man turned his attention back to Sakaria and thought for a moment before looking away and mumbling, "It's nothing." If Sai is right, and Sasuke is planning something… what will you do, Sakaria?

When Sakaria's head snapped over to him, he could have sworn she was reading his mind. In an instant, she was by his side, knelt on one knee just as he was. "If I know your parents as well as I think I do, I know your mother taught you it's not polite to stare." She joked, her eyes still focused on her brother in the distance.

Shikamaru's face twisted in a moment of grief, suddenly reminded of his father's recent death. How would he tell Sakaria when this was all over? Would he even get the chance? He shook the thought from his head, when he noticed the contented smile playing at Sakaria's lips, seemingly happy just to be beside him once again. "You listen to them more than I do, apparently," he replied, chuckling a little to hide the pain in his voice. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get over here."

"I…" Sakaria, sighed and looked at the ground, suddenly feeling guilty for all the things she'd done to escape him before. "I had to come talk to you…"

"Sakaria, don-"

"Neither of us are very good at admitting we're wrong." Sakaria looked over to him, her eyes red from her sharingan that she'd activated to keep a better eye on her brother as he fought. "And, I still won't say it but…" She laughed a little, feeling embarrassed in spite of herself. Shikamaru was right, saying sorry wasn't easy.

"But?" Shikamaru taunted back, looking at the ground below him.

"Well… you're a genius, right? Figure it out."

"Apology accepted."

From above them, Ino snarled down at the Uchiha girl as she spoke to her comrade. She had some nerve coming up to him as if nothing had happened. And how could Shikamaru forgive her so easily? She wondered what things would be like if they managed to win the war… if things would go back to the way they were before.

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"C'mon Sakaria, you literally never hang out with anyone but Shikamaru." Ino griped, standing outside the Uchiha's apartment with the other kunoichi in her class. Sakura, Tenten, and even Hinata had all agreed that the girl inside should spend more time getting to know the people in the village, especially if they hoped for Sasuke's return one day.

"Yeah, I just…" Sakaria scanned the group of hopeful girls one by one, the door only cracked open enough for Sakaria's petite frame to fit inside of it. She could feel their prying eyes attempting to see passed her to catch a glimpse of what was inside her home, and this caused her to shift a little. "I'm just kind of busy today."

"Busy doing what!?" Tenten asked, raising an eyebrow. Sakaria had hardly ever said two words to the girl, so she wondered where she got off interrogating her like this. She tried to think of a decent lie, but anything that came to mind was automatically discredited due to the fact that she was standing in her pajamas despite the fact that it was already noon. Truthfully, she had just woken up when the group of girls knocked on her door, so she was sure she didn't look prepared to do anything.

"Hey, who's here?" A dragging voice came, followed by a lazy yawn. Sakaria let out a defeated sigh as Ino's eyes widened as she recognized who was inside with the girl.

Practically mowing the tenant of the apartment over, Ino pushed the door open the rest of the way and glared at Shikamaru who was standing in the living room, scratching the back of his neck lazily. She could tell by his half lidded eyes and his relaxed attire that he'd just woken up too. "What the hell are you doing here!? You told Choji and I that you were playing Shogi last night when we were supposed to be training! Not having some sleepover!" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and pointed down at the shogi board that was set up on the living room table.

"I was playing Shogi," he rasped back to her, his voice its usual drawling tone. "With Sakaria."

"Well… you… Still!" Ino crossed her arms, obviously annoyed by his loophole. He knew as well as she did that when he had told them he was spending the evening playing his favorite game, they'd assumed he meant with his father, like he usually did. "Sakaria won't hang out with us because you two stay holed up in here all the time, and if you're not here, you're out watching clouds or something. She needs a girls' day."

"If she doesn't wanna go out with you guys, I can't force her." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Hi, I'm still right here," Sakaria reminded, turning to Ino from the door while the other girls waited outside. "It's not anything personal. I just…" She sighed, not really wanting to make the comparison, but not knowing any other way to relate to them. "You guys knew Sasuke… I'm sure he and I are probably pretty similar in a lot of ways… Uchiha are kind of loners. We have a hard time being friends with a lot of people at one time, so we sort of pick a couple of people that we like and stick to em." She shrugged, smiling up at Shikamaru, then reiterated, "It's nothing personal."

"You aren't Sasuke, though, Sakaria," Sakura chimed in from the door. Her pragmatic tone caused Sakaria's expression to flatten. From what few experiences she'd had with the pink haired kunoichi, Sakaria was truly beginning not to like her. "And besides, if Sasuke had come out of his shell a little more and talked to us, he might not have…" She trailed off when she noted the disdain welling up in the Uchiha girl's deep black eyes.

"Look, she doesn't want to hang out with you guys," Shikamaru interrupted, his tone blunt as he shrugged and reached for the pack of cigarettes he'd left laying on the kitchen counter. Previously he would have been on their side, attempting to push Sakaria out the door so she would make more friends within the village, but after really getting to know her, he realized that she just wasn't one for large groups. He chalked it up to her being out alone with her brother for so long, but she truly didn't enjoy the toil and upkeep that came along with multiple friendships.

Ino, who was never one to take no for an answer, almost snarled at her teammate, and fired back, "What are you even doing spending the night with her, Shikamaru!? You've not told Choji and me anything about this." She motioned between the two of them as if she were trying to make some kind of connection between them in the air.

"Told you about what? That I hang out here sometimes? That it gets late and I don't wanna walk home so I crash here instead?" His expression was one of obvious annoyance. He truly felt like this entire conversation was a chore.

"You say things like that, but I know something else is going on."

"Ya know, Ino, just because my mom is dead, doesn't mean I need you coming in to take her place," Sakaria shot back, scowling at her.

"I didn't mean it like that, I just-"

"Look, nothing is 'going on' between Shikamaru and I… If it was, we wouldn't have any reason to hide it from any of you. I need you guys to realize that I am my own person and I truly don't need you to meddle in my life or try to parent me…" Ino stared at her, her eyes lowering into a glare as Sakaria stepped out of the door frame, inviting her to rejoin her group outside and leave. "I guess what I'm saying is, it isn't any of your business what I am or am not doing… so thanks for the invite, but I'm good." With that, Ino walked back out onto the deck of her apartment and scowled as the door shut behind her, and Sakaria could be heard inside, laughing at something her teammate had said.

He didn't even try to see things from my side. She thought as the group defeatedly walked down the wooden steps. If that girl thinks she can just isolate my teammate like that, she's got another thing comin'.

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As the battle raged onward, the allied ninja force looked out in awe at the power unfolding before them. When the surrounding shinobi started to falter, seemingly overwhelmed by their small position in the war, Shikamaru ordered Ino to connect to them through his thoughts and brought them all back together. When his words silently struck their heads, Sakaria watched as each person who had taken a knee in complete fear, stood, one by one, their morale renewed.

"Hey, it's too bad you never got in my head like that," the girl joked, teasingly elbowing him.

"Yeah… it is…" Shikamaru seemed to trail off, but Sakaria snapped him out of it with the sweet smile she casted in his direction.

"I mean, I guess you have learned some stuff from your dad! Speaking of which…" Here it was. The moment Shikamaru had been dreading ever since Sakaria had shown up on the battle field. "Where is Shikaku?" She looked around, unknowingly cheerful.

"Sakaria, he…" Shikamaru couldn't bring himself to tell her, but she knew just based on the way his eyes lowered. Shikaku had always told his son it was okay to cry and not bottle things inside, but there was an appropriate time and place for it and this wasn't it. Sakaria knew that too, but couldn't help the look of shock that crossed her face.

"Oh, Shikamaru…" Her voice was immediately sympathetic.

"Let's not worry about it now… there'll be plenty of time to grieve once we win this thing," Shikamaru said, placing a determined hand on his friend's shoulder.

Sakaria lowered her gaze for a moment, then nodded with the same determination. "You're right. So what's the plan?"

"Right now, even in large numbers like this, we aren't very useful out there. That guy over there has taken the form of the Ten Tails' Jinchuriki and we can't risk the casualties we'd accrue from bum rushing him…We'll let Sasuke and Naruto handle the ten tails unti- what the!?" Shikamaru stopped speaking and stood to get a better look at the situation as the ten tails jinchuriki floated up into the sky and, with a flick of his wrist, sprouted a tree from the ground that grew and bloomed terrible red flowers from its trunk.

"What the hell is that…" Sakaria whispered, staring at the tree.

"Shikamaru, it's making those bombs that the ten tails used earlier!" Ino shouted to her partner.

"Oh, man. This is bad…" Shikamaru groused. Come on… think… We need a strategy to get out of this thing… When Hashirama interrupted his thought process barking orders, there was no time to react. The jinchuriki shot several metal rods from his palms which quickly tented the entire army of shinobi in a red glowing chakra.

"It's a forcefield!"

"He's trapped us in here!"

"We're done for… this is it…"

Sakaria listened as the ninja around her once again lost hope, some falling back onto their knees to accept their fate. There had to be something they could do… She looked back to Naruto and Sasuke, wondering if the pair might have any ideas as they watched the purple chakra bombs grow above their heads. C'mon Sasuke… you're so much smarter than me, right? Think of something… She was reminded of all the times her elder brother had teased her, telling her he was the smarter of the two because she never went to the academy. Back then, it was a low blow that irritated her to her core… now though, she was stuck hoping it was true.

"Sakaria!" Jugo's voice interrupted her panic as he grabbed her from her position on the battlefield and lifted her away.

"What are you doing!? We're stuck in here just like everyone else!" The Uchiha shouted as the wind whipped through their ears.

"I'm getting you to Sasuke," Jugo replied simply. When the pair reached the back of Naruto's summons, Sasuke looked back at Sakaria, his expression stoic. She didn't understand how, even at a time like this, Sasuke could seem so calm.

"Thank you, Jugo," Sasuke said, looking back toward the bombs. When Jugo nodded, Sakaria looked back and forth between the two, wondering if Sasuke had asked for him to deliver her here so that they could die together like they would have long ago had it not been for Itachi. She listened to the chattering amongst the fourth Hokage and Naruto while nothing was set in stone for a plan. It seemed hope really was lost.

We're going to die… The thought seemed absolute. With the bombs only growing, it seemed as though everyone would be trapped in a funnel and cooked as soon as they finally exploded. Several thoughts rushed through her head as she reached for Sasuke's hand.

When he felt his sister's shaking fingers reach his palm, he pulled her into him and wrapped her in his arms.

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"Sasuke, I can't do it!" The little Uchiha sister shouted as her brother stood, waiting at the bottom of a small quarry that had found.

"Yes you can!" Sasuke called back, his hand on his hips. Sakaria had only just started learning to focus her chakra in her feet enough to jump long distances like this without hurting herself, but he knew if she focused enough she'd be fine. The quarry wasn't even that high.

"I'm scared!" Sakaria moused back, biting the edge of her thumbnail and backing away from the edge.

"Come on!" Though his voice sounded annoyed, he was truly only trying to coax her down. "Also, stop biting your nails! Mom says it's a bad habit!"

"What if I don't do it right! I could-"

"You're not gonna die! Just come on…" Sasuke watched as his sister pulled her thumb from her mouth and looked back down at the quarry. He huffed and jumped back up the rock wall to her. "Why are you so scared all the time?" He sighed, looking at his sister. "It's not even that high!"

"Yeah but…"

"Here! Give me your hand!" Sasuke took his sister's hand, but she flinched away. "You really think I would let you get hurt? I'm your big brother!" Sasuke beamed, taking her hand back and pulling her to him so he could put his arm around her. "I've got you! On the count of three! One… Two…"

"Wait! Sasuke! Are you sure we won't die?" Sakaria said, her eyes screwed shut in terror.

Sasuke laughed and poked her forehead causing her to open her onyx eyes and realize she was safe at the bottom of the quarry. "You're such a scaredy cat!" He teased. "I told you we'd be okay!" With that, he ran ahead, laughing as his sister chased after him.

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"Sasuke…" Sakaria moused underneath her brother's arm.

Sasuke looked down at her remorsefully as he remembered the last time he'd held her like this. He silently wished they were back in the quarry, their only worry how much trouble they'd be in if Itachi found them playing there and what their parents would do if they were late for dinner again. This time though, Sasuke could give no promise. In fact, the only thing he could mimic from that day, was holding his sister close to him as she screwed her eyes shut in fear, and mumbling, "I've got you…" in her ear.


End file.
